


Advent of the Shadow Monarch

by NorthSouthGorem



Category: Highschool DxD (Anime), 나 혼자만 레벨업 | Solo Leveling (Webcomic)
Genre: All Hail The King, Annihilation Maker, Eventual Incest, F/M, Harem, Multi, Partial Self Insert, References many different media, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29170230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthSouthGorem/pseuds/NorthSouthGorem
Summary: Yatogami Roy thought he was just an average boy, hazy memories of a past life aside. However, when the world of the supernatural opens up to him, who the hell would say no? Especially not when his power lets him call upon the fiendish legions of his imagination. Inspired by Solo Leveling
Comments: 43
Kudos: 30





	1. Mob Rule

UO: *Falls through the ceiling* Damn it, I thought I had that jetboard fixed. *Stares at set* Again? *Views Script* Another take on DxD, alright then.  
NS: The blame for this idea comes primarily from my friend Jackie Avocado, he of the bombastic memelord SIs. Also my desire to emulate Solo Leveling without just redoing SL canon. And my frustrations at the only other Annihilation Maker fic I’ve read, over on the WebNovel site. Basically, my ideas and ambitions for this story snowballed until I couldn’t _not_ write it anymore.  
UO: Translation, no matter how much I try, he’s like a kid in a candy store when it comes to ideas.  
NS: Good ideas gotta get written. Good _fics_ need to be written.

“Speech”  
Text   
_Thoughts_  
_Mental/Magical Communication/otherworldly thoughts_   
**Beasts/Dragons/Super Mode/Balance Breaker**  
**Spell/Technique/Ability**

Chapter 1: Mob Rule

The sounds of pencils tapping across the paper as the teacher spoke about early Japanese history. It was not a particularly popular subject, some of the students already dozing off. One student was somehow managing to still listen, writing down anything he found pertinent in it.

While he of course wrote down his notes in Japanese like everyone else, on occasion he would find himself writing in English, only to grimace and switch back.

For Yatogami Roy, such a thing would not have been too out of the ordinary. Having grown up in America for his early years before moving to his mother’s home country, the half-American boy was fairly fluent in both languages, something that his English teacher often praised happily.

At the same time, however, being a foreigner was a double edged sword, especially a _half_ foreigner. Some people, especially the girls, thought he was exotic, with his blue-gray eyes and somewhat wavy hair. Others thought that his narrow eyes and usually flat expression made him look arrogant, but what was he supposed to do with that? It’s not like there was a cure for Resting Bitch Face.

It had been difficult to make friends, to say the least, especially since Roy was a taciturn fellow. But for some reason, he found that it didn’t bother him all that much. Not when he  _remembered the good friends he’d made online._

Only, he didn’t really have a presence in online communities.

His brow furrowed, pencil pausing as he considered that. _Again…why do I remember things that never happened?_

All throughout Roy’s life, especially as he grew older, he found himself experiencing flashes of memories that he knew for a fact that he had never experienced, even as he knew for an equal fact that he _had._

Was this reincarnation? In all the anime and manga he’d read _(not that he really had time for such things),_ lucky people who reincarnated into another world sometimes got to keep their memories.

 _...Another world?_ He blinked. _Ridiculous. Why would that be my first thought?_

At the bottom of his notebook page, he wrote down in Japanese 転生 (Reincarnation). Underneath that he wrote, in English, Another World? If so, what?

His mouth twisted in annoyance and confusion. _Seriously, why the hell would I think such a wishful thing? That’s the kinda thing Otaku wish for to get superpowers out of the deal._

_But isn’t my current life not that bad? And wasn’t I also a total nerd?_

It was true; thanks to his high grades in classes-  _which he remembered learning already quite clearly_ -that he’d managed to enroll at the prestigious Kuoh Academy, a school that had been a girls’ only place up until just a few years ago. It didn’t hurt that pretty much all the girls around him, and there were a _lot,_ were pretty cute as well.

_Isn’t that just like the setup of a harem anime?_

He squeezed his eyes shut, barely stifling a groan of dismay as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. _Goddamnit, Hyoudou’s gotten to me!_

Huffing, he firmly crossed out the Isekai theorizing in his notebook and turned his attention back to the teacher. It was nothing that he _hadn’t heard before,_ so he let his mind wander. As he did so, his eyes caught something glinting in his desk. Reaching inside, his fingers closed around a smooth disk; a blank coin.

He scowled again. _Even if I_ did _have some kinda power, having some weird random-ass coin follow me around is kinda lame._

Roy had woken up that morning with that coin in his hand, which had been under his pillow. He thought that he’d placed it on his bedside table, dismissing it as an interesting knick knack, only to later find that it had somehow found its way into his pocket.

The more he held it, the longer he looked at its unmarked sides, the more a feeling of… _ something, _ passed through him.

_This is not a normal coin._

_No, I just put it in my pocket without thinking._

_No, I didn’t. It’s following us. It’s special._

Gritting his teeth, Roy gripped the side of his head, trying not to scream and disrupt the class. The strange, wrong thoughts were becoming more prominent, asserting themselves.

“Yatogami-kun?” A female voice called out to him. He looked up to see a veritable succubus striding over to him; judging by how everyone was chatting amongst themselves, class had ended. Scarlet red hair that fell to her mid back along with a heaving bust, a pair of hips that made the school uniform skirt ride up, and pale, smooth legs, Rias Gremory was the complete package for a foreign beauty, in pretty much all the ways that Roy just quite didn’t measure up to. She and her longtime friend, Himejima Akeno, were considered the two great beauties of the school, in the same class as him, no less. For some reason, she had gravitated towards him, chatting him up over anime.

Just one comment about her choice of manga, and she’d more or less instantly decided that they were friends. Well…not that he minded or disagreed in the slightest; a pretty girl talking to him did wonders for his spirit.

The only downside was that her ever-abundant fanclub had taken an instant dislike towards these interactions. It was like they got off on considering Gremory and Himejima as untouchable.

_Like I give a damn about that idol fanboy mentality._

“Ah, Gremory. What’s up?”

Rias giggled and pulled out a manga, one that he had lent her just the other day. “I wanted to bring this back. Ahh, it’s so refreshing to read a romance that funny!”

He nodded, taking it back. “Nn. Glad you liked it.”

“Is something troubling you?” She asked, almost immediately noticing that his response was slightly more subdued than usual, “Don’t you want to know what I thought?”

Roy fought to clear the cobwebs from his head. “I…yeah, of course. Sorry, just got a lot on my mind.” He squeezed the coin in his hand, feeling an odd, but not altogether unpleasant ache radiating up his arm. “...Hey, you’re part of the Occult Club, right?”

She smiled. “Yes. I’m the club president, in fact. Why, do you wanna join?”

“Maybe later. The ‘Go Home Club’ still holds some fond memories for me,” he replied dryly, shrugging, “I was wondering if you could tell me something ‘bout this.” He held out the coin, “Does a coin with no faces have any Occult meaning?”

“Hm?” She took it, turning it over in her slim, soft fingers, “A silver coin…well, coins can be used for things like Numismatomancy.” At his raised eyebrows, she explained, “Basically it’s predicting the future by tossing coins. I-Ching uses three identical coins, while the Roman method uses gold, silver and bronze or copper coins.”

“Huh,” he uttered, “That’s…actually pretty cool. I only got this one, though.”

The redhead shrugged, handing the coin back. “Well, our club does have some books on the subject if you want to take a look some time.”

Unbidden, Roy found himself giving her a lopsided smile. Off to the side, a couple of girls stifled squeals of delight. “Yeah, maybe if I wind up, er, collecting some more. Do you get up to that kinda stuff in your club?”

“On occasion,” she replied, chuckling and leaning casually on a hip, “Why? That make you want to join?”

“See previous answer,” he grunted, though not unkindly.

She giggled, moving away before the teacher for their next class came in and called them all to order.

 _Numismatomancy, huh?_ he thought, rubbing the coin in his pocket, _That doesn’t sound too bad…_

_Yeah…becoming a fortune teller wouldn’t be too bad._

For once, Roy didn’t protest against the foreign thoughts.

ASM 

All too soon, it was time for lunch, and Roy found himself treading to his normal spot in the tree lined grove away from the school. His mom’s bento was full with beef, rice and tempura veggies, all packed in neat sections, which she knew he appreciated greatly. As he ate, he observed three people walk by. He groaned, recognizing them: Hyoudou Issei, Matsuda and Motohama, the three biggest perverts in the school. Not only did everyone know it, but those three seemed openly _proud_ of their reputation.

Roy could certainly understand an appreciation for some soft female curves. After all, he was at _Kuoh,_ and regularly chatted with a cute girl. Unlike the three perverts, however, he knew the meaning of the word _discretion._

He glanced at his watch. Half an hour left for lunch. More than enough time. Sighing and grumbling, he reluctantly closed his bento, got up and followed after them. It didn’t take long to figure out what they were up to, given how they were only marginally attempting to keep their voices down.

“...should be finishing up their morning practice right about now…”

“All those tits gettin’ soaked in the shower…!”

Roy frowned as he tread quietly behind them, trying to figure out who these idiots would be going after today. It could only be one of the many athletic classes or clubs, since they were starting to let out. Checking off what clubs were currently active in his head, the older boy let out a sigh. “The swim team?” he asked them, making them yelp and whip around to see him, “Really?”

“Ack! It’s the Half Prince!” yelped Matsuda, “Do you get off on cockblocking us, you damned handsome bastard?!”

“Don’t you have anything better to do!?” demanded Motohama, practically blowing steam from his nose, glasses shining sinisterly, “This has gotta be harassment!”

Issei only cringed under the boy’s irritated glare.

“My fetishes are none of your business,” grunted Roy. “Do _you_ have anything better to do than ACTUALLY harass the swim team and violate their privacy?”

“S-Senpai,” started Issei nervously, “It was only going to be a little peek, right guys? We’ll be in and out- er…we’ll be gone before anyone notices!”

Both the other boys quickly nodded, but they rolled their eyes and grimaced when he looked away.

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true though!”

Roy deadpanned at the boy, who earnestly seemed to believe that his perverted indiscretion would be just as brief and unnoticed as he said. “You do realize that you’ve told me the same thing every single time, only to get caught when Matsuhama inevitably starts hollering like dumbasses.”

The other two boys had the gall to look sheepish at the truth being thrown back at them, right before they realized the rest of what he’d said. “DID YOU JUST COMBINE US INTO ONE PERSON, YOU SON OF A BITCH?!” yelled Matsuda, his entire shaved head reddening with indignation.

“Fuckin’ pretty-boy looking down us…” snarled Motohama, pushing up his glasses angrily, “I’d love to wipe that smug face through the mud…!”

“No seriously, why do you hang out with these two, Hyoudou?” sighed the older boy, ignoring them to turn his attention back to Issei, “You know they’re just gonna use you as a scapegoat and ditch the moment the girls notice you, right? Just like every other time?”

“Urk!” the Matsuhama duo blanched when he so bluntly hit the nail on the head.

“Yo, Murayama-san!” he called out, making them immediately yelp and scatter at the mention of the female Kendo club member.

“Every man for themselves!”

“So long, Issei! Rot in hell, Half Prince!”

The brown-haired boy yelped and looked around, but by the time he realized that the girl Roy had called out to wasn’t there, he’d already been left behind. “...I know you mean well, but they still kind of are my friends,” Issei muttered.

“And we aren’t? Friends don’t ditch friends to get beat up,” the older boy told him flatly, turning to walk back towards his lunch-tree, “Also, unlike those two, you at least have a speck of decency in you, Hyoudou. There’s no hope for them, but if you at least _pretended_ to be a nice person, you’d at least get the chance to give a girl a good first impression.”

Trailing along behind him, the brown-haired boy sighed. “Again with that…?”

“It works. You think I got on such good terms with Gremory by drooling over her tits?” He paused for a moment, before dryly adding, “Where she could see?”

“Damn it, why do you have to rub that in!” Issei grumbled, “Talking to one of the two Great Onee-samas…how smooth can you be, Yatogami-senpai?!”

“Lemme let you in on a little secret, Hyoudou. I’m _terrible_ at talking to strangers.”

Issei rolled his eyes. “I know, you’re super blunt and you’ve got a face like a yakuza thug.” When Roy gave him a withering sidelong look, he pointed at him accusingly. “See?! Like that!”

“My _point,”_ continued Roy with a huff, “Is that if you want a girl to like you, then you gotta show that you’re interested in her opinion and her interests. Find out what she likes, and converse with her on it. Hell, have her teach you if she’s so inclined; it’ll show that you’re invested in what she has to say.”

“And then what?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll become friends with you, maybe she’ll even decide that you’re a decent enough guy to date. Just don’t push things faster than she would like, but don’t be a doormat about it either.” He opened up his bento and began eating again.

Issei stared at him. “You’re surprisingly wise, Yatogami-senpai,” he said.

“Whaddya mean ‘surprisingly?’” he replied grouchily.

“I mean, aren’t Americans, you know, not that bright?”

Roy glared at him. “Well judging by you, I didn’t get my brains from the Japanese half either, boyo. Now shut up and lemme eat.”

Issei sighed and waved him off, walking away to get his own lunch.

 _Moron,_ thought the older boy exasperatedly, but without any real heat, _But then, it’s always been that way. At least sometimes my words get through. There’s some hope for him yet._

ASM 

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully, though Roy could’ve sworn he saw Matsuda and Motohama out of the corner of his eye, giving him filthy looks.

But what did that matter? Classes were over and he was free to go home. Sure, that overbearing Student Council President was always on his case to join a club, but he’d do that when he damn well felt like it, not a moment before.

_It was that way back then too._

He shook his head, banishing the flashes of a high school that he’d never been in.

His brain had always been full of thoughts and memories like that, as far as he could remember. Growing up, he’d always asked his mother where the challah was each Friday, only to realize that he wasn’t Jewish. His sister would get rather pissy when he forgot that he was supposed to be the younger sibling. His parents were loving and supportive, of course, but it was clear that they worried that he might have some sort of mental condition. Therapy hadn’t done much to make the memories go away, but as he grew older, it became easier to tell which memories were real and which weren’t.

Somewhat, at least.

It all made his head spin, almost lightheaded as his current memories and these new ones fought in his mind. But he plodded on, used to the sensation.

The commute home was uneventful as always, taking him halfway across town. The area he lived in was one of the more upscale areas of Kuoh Town, with traditional Japanese manors mixed with more modern housing. He lived in the latter, which appealed to his other memories at least; it wasn’t like he hated it himself either.

“I’m home…!” he called absentmindedly when he let himself in.

“Welcome home!” His mother called out, “How was your day?”

Roy looked up to his mother in a blouse and long skirt. The memories in his head were suddenly appreciating her figure, which, while not as developed as Rias or Himejima, the term MILF would apply to her, her black T-shirt sitting tightly across a burgeoning, yet firm chest and child bearing hips squeezed into a pair of jeans.

 _...Gah._ He had to blink hard to try and shake away the unbidden thoughts. _What the shit, brain? I don’t wanna think about how sexy my mom is!_

“Something wrong, honey?” Mizuki asked. 

“Nothin’, just…thinking weird thoughts again.”

“Oh. Well, if it’s not anything too serious, then why don’t you go lie down for a bit.”

He grunted. “Yeah…maybe after I do my homework, I guess.”

_Meh, napping is a waste of time. There’s too much I’d rather do, even if it ends up being nothing._

He grimaced, but couldn’t disagree.

ASM 

Homework wasn’t all that tough to deal with. Even besides the memories of learning all this stuff before, it wasn’t like Roy couldn’t parse through it himself. He was challenging Shitori sempai for best scores in the school, at least in some areas, and he certainly wasn’t bad in the others either.

_I was never this good at concentrating on my own._

That thought made him pause. _On my own…Are these thoughts...someone else’s?_

_No. From the beginning, I-_

He shook his head, clasping his hands to his temples. _NO! I’m me! I’m Yatogami Roy!_

_Yes…that’s right. That’s who I am now. But before all that…_

Pain pulsated behind his eyes, making him roll over with a gasp of pain. Images, memories of a life he didn’t lead, a life that was completely different to what he lived now. Shows, games, people he never met or saw, all of it seemed to be mixing with his own.

“HRRRNNNNNGH!” he groaned, trying not to scream at the top of his lungs, tears leaking from his eyes.

_I am I. That will always be true. These memories are me, and this life is also me. Just go with the flow, Roy. I have all that I need. Just remember…_

The pain faded away, and he lay back on the bed tiredly. He could feel the coin in his hand again. _Is there really something supernatural out there?_ he wondered, too tired to dismiss it outright anymore, _Am I really a reincarnation? Well…I guess remembering my past life isn’t so bad. It’s not like it invalidates the life I’m living now._

Those memories rose to the surface, but this time, he took the time to examine them. As he did so, he began to realize that the whole Isekai thing might actually hold some water.

 _Kamen Rider? Isn’t that that show from back in the 70s?_ He quickly hopped on the internet to check. Sure enough, it was from the 70s, but the show had ended long before he was born, despite attempts to bring it back. His memories spoke differently, showing him images of more colorful, more modern interpretations of Ishinomori Shoutarou’s creation. Sure, modern day Super Sentai was good too (even if admitting that he liked it nowadays would make him a laughingstock), but something about the shows in his mind’s eye appealed to him more.

Not to mention a reversed version of his favorite comedy manga, The 100 Boyfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Want You. To think that he could remember a version that was more like a harem anime. _Hyoudou would die if he knew that something like that existed,_ he thought, snorting.

It wasn’t all anime, however. His childhood was filled quite clearly with several series that he quickly confirmed did not exist.

_Alright. So I remember stuff from my previous life in another world. What now?_

He held up the silver coin, rubbing it between his fingers absently. It almost seemed to tingle against his skin. “So what are you supposed to do, huh?” he asked quietly.

Suddenly a female voice called out outside his door. “Roy! Dinner!”

“Alright!”

Well, it could wait for now.

ASM 

The next day saw Roy heading to school, this time accompanied by his older sister. Yatogami Chiaki was practically the spitting image of their mother, albeit even taller, with longer, wavy hair and a propensity to hide her generous curves under more baggy clothing. Well, as baggy as the Kuoh Academy College Division dress code would permit. “Mom’s been telling me about your headaches. You alright, little bro?” she asked, pushing up her thick, round glasses.

“Mm. They’re not as bad as she probably implied,” he answered vaguely.

She gave him a sidelong look that would not have been out of place on his own face, her own bright blue eyes showing through the lenses. “...Is it those memories again?” she asked seriously.

“You wanna get into it this early?” he sighed, “...Yeah, they haven’t stopped. Never have.”

Chiaki bit her lip, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey. After school, why don’t you stop by the shrine? Get yourself a charm. You might have a Youkai haunting you.”

He gawped at her for a moment. “A Youkai? Jeez, never took you for the superstitious type, Chiaki-nee.”

“Look, all I’m saying is, my friends picked up some charms when they were having trouble and it helped out a ton!” she protested earnestly.

“I’m not putting all my hopes in a dinky little pouch, nee-san. Not to mention, correlation doesn’t equal causation. They could’ve just turned their lives around on their own, or just used the charm as a placebo.”

She frowned. “Now what did I tell you about throwing around smarty-pants vocab like that?”

“That I’d make your nerd glasses feel ashamed to be worn by such a dumbass sister,” he replied without missing a beat, turning away to hide a shit-eating grin.

“Yeah, that’s ri- OI!” she yelped, hands immediately leaping up to push at her round frames, inadvertently smushing her voluminous breasts between her arms.

_“Heheheh…”_

As the siblings badgered each other, out of the corner of his eye Roy spotted something white. Breaking free of her sister, he looked closer to see the unofficial school Mascot, Toujou Koneko. The tiny girl was practically the polar opposite of Chiaki, barely four and a half feet tall with short white hair and yellow eyes. The only place where they shared similarities was in curves; his underclassman was very blatantly _stacked,_ with massive, wobbly orbs that bounced around under her uniform shirt, and plush, soft thighs that rubbed together under her short skirt.

There wasn’t a boy in Kuoh that hadn’t at some point daydreamed of having the shortstack sit on their lap. The perpetually chilly expression on her face only made things worse, a black cat-shaped hairpin being the only hint of vanity about her. However, much like the two Great Onee-sama, Koneko was considered completely unapproachable. Anyone who tried to chat her up would probably wind up getting stonewalled by her cool nature…and then beaten up by all her other fans.

Noticing the girl, Chiaki commented, “I swear, she gets shorter every day.”

“Suits me fine,” he said absently.

She snorted. “No wonder you get along with that perv Hyoudou.”

“It’s called having a healthy appreciation for them without being a fucking idiot.” He nodded at the girl, raising my voice in greeting. “Yo, Toujou-san.”

She turned to regard him, eyes narrowing for a moment. Then she grunted softly and continued on her way. 

“Well that was rude,” Chiaki huffed. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Reminds me of a cat.”

“Bah, boys like you would forgive anything for a pretty face! Anyway, I have to do something at the shrine later, don’t wait up alright?”

“Business as usual?”

She shrugged, adjusting her shoulder bag. “Yeah, sure, that.”

Without thinking, Roy reached into his pocket to rub the silver coin. _Hm…for all I know, she could be serious about that Youkai thing. Though these memories aren’t caused by that._

ASM 

As the day passed on, Roy noticed something strange in the air. The students, normally giving him weird looks on a good day, were physically avoiding him hugging the walls or even going on detours around him. _What, did my uniform get stained or something?_ He looked himself over; nothing unusual that he could see. Nevertheless, he could feel an almost uncomfortable tingling in the back of his neck.

Fortunately, the Perverted Trio seemed to be lying low today, so he was able to eat lunch at a leisurely pace.

“Is there something going on, today?” he asked Rias in the afternoon, “I’m getting the weirdest feeling that something’s different.”

However, the redhead only raised an eyebrow quizzically. “No? Nothing that I’m aware of.”

He hummed, even as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, would you mind if I dropped by your club today? Just to see what it’s like.”

Her eyes, which were a lovely shade of blue-green, widened, practically sparkling as she beamed. “Certainly!” she chirped, “Just come by the old school building!”

He gave her a smile and a nod, but as he turned around, he noticed several boys were giving him dark looks. He only gave them a blank stare right back, to show that he was not intimidated (even if he was just a little).

And then, at last, classes ended for the day. As Roy packed away his books and slung his bag over his shoulder, two of the boys in his class suddenly approached him, subtly blocking his way. “...Can I help you?” he asked doubtfully, even as his grip tightened on his bag.

“Come with us for a bit, Yatogami,” one student requested flatly. Something about his cold, almost blank expression made Roy’s skin crawl.

“Mmm, sorry, can’t,” he replied nonchalantly, “Kinda made plans already, but thanks anyway. Don’t wanna keep you from your clubs.”

“This won’t take too much time,” said a third, approaching them with an identical expression. Completely identical.

Before he knew it, what felt like half the boys in the class were clustered around him, forming a wall of uniforms. He stared around at them, unnerved, but finally, he gave a resigned sigh and nodded. “Alright, fine.”

None of them touched him, but he was quickly herded out into the hallway and out of the school building. He glanced around, spotting the old building where Rias had told him to come visit her. However, he had the feeling that trying to break away from the group would only get him dogpiled. _Japanese society in a nutshell._ He snorted at his own joke.

His nerves only mounted, however, as he was led into the woods just outside the school grounds. “Oi, what’s this about?” he asked, masking his nervousness with irritation.

Finally, however, they came to a stop, parting slightly. However, doing so only allowed Roy to see that even more people had joined them. Looking behind him to make sure, he counted about twenty or so boys, all of them looking to be of different years, all giving him the same blank, yet hateful looks.

“You know what this is about, Yatogami,” said one boy, rolling back his sleeves to show off a pair of well-muscled arms. Most likely he was a member of one of the Martial Arts clubs.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Humor me, then. I wanna hear how you plan on justifying this debacle.”

His snide expression faded when he saw that everyone’s eyes began _glowing._

“You’ve been buzzing around Gremory-onee-sama for too long,” growled another boy, “You’re an eyesore.”

“Someone as great as her doesn’t need some boy chatting her up!”

“So, what, you want me to stop hanging around her?” he asked, putting a hand to his neck and cracking it, “I fail to see how it’s any of your business.”

A shout of anger and movement behind him made him spin around. His hands came up and brushed aside the attacking underclassman’s wild punch, before shoving him past him, making him stumble into the others.

 _Something’s wrong here,_ thought Roy, even as he set his bag on the ground and got himself into a Bajiquan stance, _These guys have to know that they’d get in serious trouble for something like this._ He eyed the glowing from their pupils.

_“You might have a Youkai haunting you.”_

He grimaced as he remembered his sister’s words. _Maybe you had a point, nee-san._

“Oh? So you know some Martial Arts?” asked the boy with the rolled back sleeves.

Roy shrugged. “Eh, Dad thought it would be handy to pick some up for self defence. And look at that, he was right.” He was talking mostly to psych himself up, trying to keep his breathing under control. His heart pounded, and he was already starting to sweat at the prospect of fighting so many people.

And then they were upon him. It had been years since he’d first learned Bajiquan, and he hadn’t advanced all that much before moving to Japan, but he still made sure to keep himself from getting rusty. He weaved through the mass of bodies, redirecting some attacks and wincing when others got through. He forced himself to keep calm, even as panic bubbled up in his throat, trying to stay on the move.

But then his arms were being grabbed and yanked around behind his back. He grunted, trying to struggle free, but a heavy fist smacked across his jaw, making him see stars for a moment.

 _Damn it...of all the days for my sister to be right about something…_ Another fist smacked across his cheek, almost knocking him over, but the two holding him made sure to keep him upright. _The only reason they even got the jump on me is ‘cause of numbers._

A punch to the stomach made him double over, wheezing, his vision blurring. His fist clenched, and he felt the coin between his fingers. _What good are memories gonna do me if I can still be overwhelmed like a normal human?_

_Even so, fuck these guys. If I was the one with the group, this whole situation would be reversed!_

_What I need is_ **_numbers._ **

Suddenly, a blinding light shone from his clenched fist, making everyone cry out in shock and discomfort, and Roy felt the grip on his arm slacken for a moment. Taking the opportunity, he yanked his arm free and shoved himself against the boy who still had hold of him, toppling him to the ground. Even as he deflected another attempt to grab him, the boy opened his hand to see that the mysterious blank coin was now shining white, breaking apart into vanishing fragments.

And then, suddenly, everything became a whirl of black.

Roy gasped in shock, his knees buckling as  _ his mi _ _ nd split. _ Suddenly, his vision  _ fractured, _ and his stomach lurched nauseously as his consciousness scattered through the void. His vision danced with shadows and light, his eyes seeing himself like a mirror over a thousand times. He felt his own body moving in a dozen different directions, striking out faster and harder than he’d ever moved in his life. The other boys cried out in shock and pain as he punched and kicked them mercilessly, countless impacts reverberating against his fists. He could barely think, his mind overcrowded by too many sights, too many lightning-fast motions.

_ I’m not this fast…what am I doing? _

_ Where am I? _

There was a sharp jolt as he/ _ one of him _ was grabbed by the arm and thrown over a broad shoulder. He kicked the offender’s leg with one of his, making him buckle, but when his back hit the ground that one viewpoint vanished. He barely even noticed, however, because there were easily dozens more, which easily returned the favors on all the other boys, all being thrown about like ragdolls.

And then, suddenly, it was over. All the boys lay on the ground, groaning, but unconscious, and the movement finally stopped.

With a gasp of shock and effort, Roy pulled himself together, and found himself lying insensate on the ground. He scrambled to his feet, swaying, feeling lightheaded, and looked around.

Roy stared, uncomprehending, at the new group that had arrived. They were undoubtedly humanoid, dressed from head to toe in black and all identical. However, the hands that emerged from their sleeves were a cold blue. “Um…” he uttered, having no clue what he wanted to say.

However, at the sound of his voice, all of them looked up at him with glowing red eyes, their faces hidden behind masks. Roy gulped, but at the same time, he could feel some of his fear seeping away. In the back of his head, the voice of his past life was able to identify them.

_Shadowkhan!_

His eyes widened as he remembered the coin vanishing, just before these…Shadowkhan had materialized. “Did I…did I call you here?” he asked them.

As one, they all nodded silently.

“Okay...do you know how I called you?”

They merely blinked at him. However, just as he resigned himself to being given the silent treatment, a feeling of lightheadedness overcame him and he stumbled. Instantly two more of the ninjas were at his side, supporting him. He barely registered that, though, as he suddenly became aware of something inside his mind. A great, vast pool of darkness, imprinted into which was the image of a shimmering coin. However, this time the coin was marked, emblazoned with a single word.

**NUMEROUS.**

“I didn’t just summon you,” he murmured, looking around at the ninjas, “I made you.”

Once more, they nodded.

He gazed at the group of students that had just tried to attack him. He still had no idea _why_ they’d gone so far as to assault him, but it was clear that something had provoked them, something supernatural.

 _Given that I can summon fucking_ ninjas _out of nowhere, it’d be stupid to say that the supernatural doesn’t exist,_ he thought ruefully to himself.

“Hm...I wonder if Gremory knows any of this stuff?” he wondered, forcefully trying to move past his earlier terror. The aching pain starting to throb on his face and stomach made that difficult, however. “I…fuck, I gotta get outta here, before they wake up,” he mumbled, stumbling back towards the edge of the woods, “You guys make yourself scarce or something.”

At his absentminded order, the Shadowkhan instantly melted into the ground and vanished behind him.

Off in the distance, a figure in the trees took flight, leaving behind a scattering of black feathers.

ASM 

Fortunately, this time he was able to reach the old school building. As he approached, Rias opened the door to greet him. She was about to say hello, but then saw his jaw and cheek bruised, the boy himself visibly shaking. “Yatogami-kun! What happened?”

“Let’s just say that your fanboys are the _worst,”_ he groaned, rubbing his face, “But that’s not important.”

The redhead frowned severely. “Not important? You’re all beaten up! Don’t act like a shonen protagonist and get in here!”

He snorted, even as she dragged him inside and led him down the hallway. “Like you’re one to talk, you otaku. Your Occult club actually deals with the real thing, doesn’t it?”

She paused mid-step, blinking. “W-what?” she asked, suddenly flustered, “What makes you say that?”

“Just call it a hunch, especially considering that I just awakened a superpower myself.”

She whipped around to face him, her blue-green eyes widening. “What?!”

“Yeah, that’s why I said not to worry about those guys. I ended up coming out on top.”

Rias let go of his hand, pressing her palms together and breathing deeply. “...What sort of power is it?” she asked slowly, as if trying to contain some sort of emotion that he couldn’t identify.

Roy closed his eyes, imagining that same pool of darkness from before, raising his hand and curling his fingers, almost as if he were pulling at a chain, or beckoning someone.  **“Come.”**

He felt three of the Shadowkhan step out his shadow before he saw them.

“Wha-?!” gasped Rias, jumping in a way that made her prodigious bust bounce in an eye-catching way.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you,” he assured her, glancing at them, “Er, right?”

They shook their heads.

“Right.”

However, she only waved that off, even as he gestured for them to step down. “No, not that! You just...pulled them out of nowhere?!”

“Yeah, don’t know much at the moment, but I think I actually created them. Um, so about that medical treatment-”

Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and yanked him forward again, making him yelp in shock. She practically hauled him up the stairs, leading him to a spacious room lined with bookshelves and a pair of sofas.

“Sit!” she commanded, nearly shoving him down onto a seat, before running off through another doorway. _“Akeno! Akeno, get the first aid kit!”_

Then she came running back into the room and plopped herself down on the opposite couch, her eyes glimmering with giddiness.

Roy stared at her, bewildered. “Okay, not exactly the reaction I was expecting. What the shit, Gremory?”

Her face went slightly pink, even as she grinned widely. “S-sorry! It’s just, I had a feeling that you had a Sacred Gear, but I never thought that you’d actually awaken it like this! And that it was _that_ power! Oh-oh my gosh, where do I even _start!”_

He blinked. “Sacred Gear? Wait, you knew I had power?”

“It-it was pretty noticeable,” she admitted, practically bouncing in her seat, “I mean, not that you aren’t an interesting person on your own, but it was kinda hard not to tell that you had one!”

“Okay, let’s start from the top! What is a Sacred Gear?”

Finally, the redhead took a deep breath. “Right. Fine. Okay. I’m calm, I’m calm…Sacred Gears, Yatogami-kun, are special powers that were bequeathed to mankind by the Abrahamic God, in order to give them a chance against the supernatural.”

“So...what my sister was blabbing about is true...so where do you fall in, Gremory?”

With smirk and a toss of her hair, so perfect that it had to be practiced, a pair of spindly, bat-like wings suddenly snapped open from behind her back. “I never thought you’d ask. I am Rias Gremory, a Devil. And you, Yatogami Roy, are the bearer of Annihilation Maker, one of the most powerful Sacred Gears in existence.”

ASM 

**AN:** And boom! Didn’t think you’d see me again, did you?

Don’t worry, this does not mean that Waking Dreamer is dead or anything. It’s just that these fics will be running parallel to each other.

UO: Read whenever he can drag me away from my stuff and when the motivation strikes

Notes:

1: Roy’s name was thought up by my friend UnitedOsprey, meaning king. If you’re gonna complain about him having an English given name, I refer you back to the fact that he’s half American and grew up IN America.

2: I’m not going to bash Issei, full stop. Yes, he is a damn pervert, but I feel that that does not mean that he deserves the same level of scorn as…certain others. Certain purple others.

UO: Lord knows there’s too much in this fandom. And we would be hypocrites...well NSG would be.

Oh, don’t pretend like you’re any less.

3: Yatogami Chiaki is an OC, though I suppose that the closest comparison one could make as far as her appearance would be Tamaki Ako from Netoge no Yome, except older and way less Chuuni. And glasses.

4: Yes, I made Koneko into a shortstack. Look up the character Felt Whitesnow. You’re welcome.

5: The voice/memories of Roy’s past life are from things that are in our world. In that way, yes, he’s technically an SI, but also kinda not, at this point. However, he will NOT be remembering DxD canon.

6: Idol fanboys be absolute trash sometimes. Especially for popular girls in school.

7: I hope I didn’t make the mind control thing TOO subtle.

UO: The Mummy would make a great episode based on that for the record

Soul: _walks through with popcorn, looks around, gives a thumbs-up, and walks back in his Shattered Realms_

UO: *Hears carnage* GOD DAMMNIT! KATSUKI! NATSU! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU! *Further carnage ensure.

Moving on…

8: Who WOULDN’T use the power to create any creature to make minions as cool as the Shadowkhan? Plus they fit the Shadow aesthetic...but that’s for another chapter. An explanation for how Annihilation Maker works will come in the future.

9: That 100 Boyfriends manga is DxD's parody version of pretty much the greatest harem manga ever, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Love You. I totally recommend it if you want an MC who isn't a dense moron and gives all his girls love and support.

And that’s all for now. As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, leave a review or send a PM.

North South Out.


	2. Conspirators

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy's introduction to the supernatural world does not go completely smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, should probably have listed this earlier. This is for you folks reading on FF and AO3.
> 
> New Creatures
> 
> Shadowkhan  
> Tier 1  
> Aspect(s): Numerous  
> Abilities: Peak human athleticism, agility and ninja training  
> Personality: Rudimentary/hive mind
> 
> New Aspects
> 
> Numerous: Creatures created with this Aspect cannot be regenerated and become quite fragile. However, the creator may summon an infinite number of them.

Oh yeah, should probably have listed this earlier. This is for you folks reading on FF and AO3.

New Creatures

**Shadowkhan**   
Tier 1   
Aspect(s): Numerous   
Abilities: Peak human athleticism, agility and ninja training   
Personality: Rudimentary/hive mind

New Aspects

**Numerous:** Creatures created with this Aspect cannot be regenerated and become quite fragile. However, the creator may summon an infinite number of them.

Chapter 2: Conspirators

“...Oh.”

Rias sagged, her wings drooping. “And of course that’s what I expected from Yatogami-kun.”

Roy snorted, watching Rias pout disappointedly. “No but seriously, what else were you expecting me to say?”

She shrugged, sighing as her wings retracted. “You know, a bit of gawping, maybe some exclamation that this can’t be real, that you’ve gone crazy…the usual stuff?”

“And then what, a few days of me avoiding you before realizing that our friendship means a lot more to me than some superficial new fact I learned about you?” he asked dryly, “As for gawping, I  _ just _ got finished summoning a bunch of shadow ninjas to beat up a bunch of assholes. Also, little secret? I’ve always wondered if I’m crazy anyway, this barely even registers.”

This time it was her turn to say, “Oh…well, I guess it is nice to do without all the angst. What do you mean by crazy, though? You’ve got to be one of the most well-adjusted people I know, and that’s saying a lot I’ll have you know!”

“Ever heard of Isekai?” Roy asked, almost immediately regretting it.

The busty redhead gave him a withering look, before reaching down and cupping one of her hefty breasts. “Are these J-cups?” she asked him rhetorically.

Roy couldn’t help but sputter. “Are they?! Holy shit! Er, I mean-”

“Yes, Yatogami-kun, I know what Isekai is.”

It took him a good moment to stop laughing, though he made sure to try and not stare. “A-anyway…don’t spread this around, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve had memories of a past life bouncing around in my head. Memories that don’t really match up with anything I’ve ever seen.”

Her triumphant smirk vanished, brow furrowing as she gazed at him, concerned. “That sounds serious. What kinds of things?”

“Remember that 100 Boyfriends manga?”

“Yes, of course, I just gave it back to you yesterday.”

He nodded. “Well, I also distinctly remember reading a version of one hundred girlfriends.”

She cringed. “That sounds like a nightmare!”

“Actually, the main guy was incredibly romantic and caring. It was adorable.”

Rias raised an eyebrow. “Next you’ll tell me there’s more Mumen Rider.”

“Kamen Rider, and yes. In fact they just started a new era. Here it just ended after Black RX.”

Rias sighed and sat down, her breasts giving an extra eye-catching bounce. “So…let’s leave that discussion for later, as much as I’d love to hear about it. I want to talk about your Longinus. Annihilation Maker.”

“Mm.” He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his chin. “Longinus…sounds a tiny bit familiar.”

“It’s named for the spear that pierced Jesus’s side when he was crucified,” she explained, “In fact, that same spear went on to become the most powerful of all the Sacred Gears. Thus, the other Longinus of a similar potential are named after it.”

“Potential?” he asked, sitting up. Talk of potential when it came to superpowers was always promising. “What kind of potential?”

She shrugged, smiling coyly. “The power to kill a god.”

His eyes widened and he whistled. “Whoa now…given that you’re a Devil, that’s some pretty ballsy talk. Ah, speaking of, what kind of, er, mythology would you say you’re from? Actually, for that matter, let’s start with which ones are real.”

“All of them,” said Rias blithely, “Though some have more power than others, these days. The Devils fall under the Abrahamic section. Are you religious, Yatogami-kun?”

“If I were, I probably wouldn’t be so civil,” he pointed out. “My sister is a Shinto maiden, but it’s never really been something I took all that…seriously.” Then he frowned. “Maybe I should change that sometime soon, eh?”

“Oh? I’ll be sure to give her my thanks. The Shinto faction were very gracious in letting me set up this town as my territory.”

Roy raised an eyebrow. “Quite a bit to unpack there.”

Before they could speak, a knock on the door broke their attention. “Buchou? I got tea and the first aid kit.”

With that, Himejima Akeno slipped into the room, carrying a laden tray. Unlike her foreign beauty of a friend, the young woman was every bit a classical Japanese beauty, with long, dark, silky hair, tied up in a ponytail that practically slithered its way down her back to her shapely lower calves. Her skin was smooth, eyes a dark, mesmerizing violet whose gaze was only enhanced by her gentle, heavy-lidded look, and a bust that seemed even larger than Rias’s. She gave Roy a practically mathematically perfect polite smile. “Ara, so Yatogami-kun has finally paid us a visit? Oh dear, you look a bit dirtied up. Would you like some help?”

“Ah, thanks, Akeno,” sighed the redhead, accepting a cup of green tea, before Akeno bustled around to the other side and sat down neatly beside him.

Roy found himself tensing, suddenly very aware that he was alone in a room with two absolutely  _ gorgeous _ girls. “Ah, um…” he uttered stiffly, “Y-yeah. Thanks, Himejima.”

She giggled, opening up the first aid kit. “Now now, Yatogami-kun, we’re the same age, aren’t we? If you’re so close with Buchou, then you can just call me by my given name.”

He didn’t trust himself to speak, so he only nodded jerkily. As she walked over to apply the ointment, Rias spoke up. “If you were thinking of keeping this from Akeno here, don’t worry. She’s a devil too. She’s my Queen, if you will.”

“Your…” Roy blinked, eyebrows rising. “Huh. Shows what I know, I guess. Well, a lot of fanboys probably imagined you two had that sort of relationship.”

“Wha…?” she asked, looking momentarily baffled. As Akeno began giggling into her hand, she blushed as she realized what he was talking about. “No, not that! Like the chess piece! The chess piece!”

He shrugged, smirking back at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, so lead with that next time.” Just then, the dark-haired girl began dabbing ointment on his bruises, making him flinch.

“Uuuugh!” groaned Rias, burying her face in her hand.

“Perhaps start with the Great War, my King,” suggested Akeno demurely.

“King, huh?”

“Don’t encourage him!” snapped the redhead, giving her a filthy look. “Alright! Fine!” She took another sip of tea to calm herself down. “Pretty much since the beginning of human history, there’s been a war between the Abrahamic three factions, ever since Lucifer’s Fall. The Angels, the Fallen Angels, and the Devils. It went on for eons, costing millions of lives, human and otherwise.”

“As wars do,” agreed Roy, grimacing.

“Eventually,” she continued, “It got to the point where the original four Maou- that is to say, our leaders -were all killed in battle with…” she cleared her throat and indicated upwards, “With you know who.”

Roy nodded politely, assuming that Devils didn’t like saying God’s name.

“Shortly after that, about a few hundred years ago, the new Maou signed a ceasefire agreement with the other two factions,” supplied Akeno, closing the first aid kit, “Of course, people aligned with the old Maou weren’t happy about that, so the Devils had to deal with a civil war afterwards.”

“Jesus,” said the boy sympathetically, making the two girls wince, “Oh, er, sorry.”

Rias waved him off. “Suffice it to say, the Devils’ population is appallingly low. Well, all of the factions are. It’s a little like the first World War and all of those men dying without doing much, save a cease fire.

“Oof. So, population troubles?”

She sighed. “Oh yes. Pureblood Devils breed very poorly with each other these days.”

“How poorly?”

“I’m the second child of my household, and my older brother fought in the latter days of the Great War. Oh, and I should mention that I actually am 18, this appearance isn’t just for looks.”

Roy fought to keep his jaw from dropping. “That’s…some  _ serious _ longevity.”

Rias chuckled. “Well, it’s not like being a Devil is without its perks. Oh, and before you ask, we can breed with other sapient races as well, though this produces half-Devils, which, well…the nobility isn’t exactly satisfied with that.”

He nodded, grimacing.

Then she snapped her fingers, and what was unmistakably a red magic circle flared into existence, making him jump, before a small wooden box materialized in her lap. "Thanks to one of the Maou, the current Beelzebub, we came up with another method of restoring our ranks. Tell me, are you a chess player?" She turned the box around and opened it, revealing several bright red chess pieces. However, only the Rooks, a Knight and all eight Pawns were present.

“Can’t say I’m all that great at it, but I think you’re missing a few,” he commented.

“On the contrary, I know exactly where they are,” said Rias, nodding towards Akeno, “The Evil Piece system allows Devils like myself to convert members of other races into new Devils. How it’s different from Half-Devils, I honestly don’t know, but it’s good enough for the higher ups I suppose.”

“Ahh, I see, so Akeno-san has your Queen piece.”

“Exactly! Now, back to the original point of this conversation: your power, Annihilation Maker.”

Roy nodded, even as Akeno’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “Pretty cool name, and judging by all that stuff you said about the Longinus, it’s supposed to be powerful?” With a wave, several Shadowkhan suddenly rose up from behind the couch, standing over him. “An army of ninjas is definitely cool as hell- er, pun not intended. But I’m guessing there’s more to it than that?” 

_ “So _ much more!” she agreed fervently, “Whenever Annihilation Maker surfaces, its wielder quickly becomes the center of total pandemonium. As far as I know, you can create any creature you can imagine.”

Even Roy couldn’t keep a stoic face at that.  _ Anything I can imagine? _ he wondered, glancing back at the ninjas,  _ I guess that’s why these things are something I recognize,  _ _ even if it’s been ages since I watched that show… _ “There’s gotta be some kinda limit though, right?” he asked, “I mean, what are the odds that this power has  _ never _ fallen into the hands of someone who wanted to completely fuck up the world. How would he ever be stopped?”

Rias shrugged, pointing out, “The world is full of equally powerful beings, if not more so. In addition, even if the user can create powerful creatures, he would still be an ordinary human.”

“Ah, that’s definitely true.” Even as he agreed, however, something else occurred to the boy. “There’s something else. That coin I showed you yesterday? It got used as…fuel or something to make the Shadowkhan. I can kinda feel it in my head, but until I get another one, I don’t think I can create any more creatures for now.”

“Ara, that’s a good deal of trust you’re showing,” murmured Akeno, “One would normally want to keep details like that under wraps, no?”

Roy sighed. “Maybe. But being suspicious and keeping secrets from everyone I know all the time would just get exhausting. Besides, you’re gonna lead into trying to turn me into a Devil with one of those Evil Piece things, aren’t you?”

The redhead gave a guilty smile, blushing slightly, while Akeno giggled. “He really has got your number, Buchou!”

“I wanted to lead into it gradually,” muttered Rias, playing nervously with the ends of her hair and bunching up in her seat, “I mean, it would obviously be good if you were to join…”

He shrugged. “Well, what are the benefits? Would I get that lifespan that you mentioned?”

She perked up a little at his interest. “O-oh, yes! Of course! Although, you can still be killed, especially by holy power. Not to mention, as a member of my Peerage, you’ll be expected to fight in Rating Games on my behalf.”

“Rating Games are a way for high class Devils to show off their collected Peerages to each other in combat,” Akeno supplied, smiling, “They use a great deal of magic to ensure that it’s non-fatal, of course, so it can get rather… _ intense.” _ Her smile deepened in a way that he suddenly found slightly disconcerting. “Although, Buchou can’t actually participate in Rating Games just yet.”

“Just for another few months!” protested Rias, “But that’s beside the point…Devils are also well-attuned to magic, and can use it far more easily than just about any other race.”

_ That _ certainly appealed to Roy. “Magic? Well, sign me the fuck up!” he proclaimed. But then he stopped to think. “Actually, hang on. Don’t you guys make bargains with people for their souls? I’m not sure I’d wanna take people’s souls from them…”

“Oh no, we haven’t done that since the new Maou took over,” she assured him, “Ultimately, human souls are good for giving a quick boost in power, but it was decided that the smaller boost from completing contracts for regular payments is more sustainable. At most, a contract might ask for the contractor to give up his own life, but that’s...well, my Peerage and I don’t take those kinds of jobs.” She shuddered. “Besides that, the only real downside is that you can’t say the name of the Abrahamic God without suffering headaches. That also goes for someone reciting prayers. Stronger Devils can ignore it, but it’s quite annoying.”

He shrugged. “Well, I’m not Christian or anything, so that doesn’t mean much to me.”  _ Though I was Jewish in my past life. _ “So, how do we do this?”

Rias sputtered. “What, right now?!”

Akeno laughed, smiling wryly. “Well, you certainly are eager to embrace the so-called evil side, aren’t you?” she asked teasingly.

“You aren’t evil,” said Roy simply, “You’re acting just the same as you always did, before I learned all this.”

“What do you…?” the redhead began, turning slightly pink as he stared steadily at her.

“My point is, you weren’t hiding some dark side to you when you revealed that you were a Devil. You’re still the same dorky otaku that I know. And given what you just said about Devils being good at magic means that you could just mind-control me into being your servant or whatever, like those guys that just jumped me.”

Akeno blinked, then frowned. “Wait a moment, what was that last bit?”

“Later, I’m on a roll here.”

“Ah, yes, sorry.”

“The fact that you are this way naturally tells me that I don’t need to worry about my personality changing. After all, humanity isn’t just for the human, is it?” He gave her a smile and a shrug. “Or maybe I’m just coming up with a pretty-sounding excuse to live longer and gain magical powers, sue me.”

Rias gave a huff of laughter. “Aha…haha…you know, you’re a pretty rough guy, but you’re actually kind of pure underneath, aren’t you?”

He snorted. “I’ll take that as a compliment, I suppose.”

Sighing, Rias opened up her case and pulled out her two rooks. “Every being has a piece value, for the sake of conversion. Pawns are worth the least, so that’s the baseline. Knights and Bishops are each worth three Pawns, Rooks are five and Queens are nine. In addition, each piece gives the recipient different qualities; increased speed, magical power and strength respectively. Queens get all three, and Pawns can temporarily become any of them. If you don’t mind, I would like to see if I could use my Rooks on you.”

“No, I don’t mind becoming super strong,” he assured her dryly, “But why?”

“Well, given how powerful Annihilation Maker makes you count as, I might need to use more than one piece, and I can’t just mix them. Both Rooks together is the same as ten Pawns and if I have to use them, I’m only losing one extra piece, as opposed to seven.”

“Don’t worry, Yatogami-kun,” said Akeno with a wink, “I won’t be too jealous of you being worth one more pawn than me.”

“Well, let’s do it then,” Roy grinned, “No time like the present.”

Sighing, Rias stood up and stepped around the table in the middle of the room, Roy standing up with her.. “Alright then.” She took out the castle-shaped piece and pressed it gently to his chest and took a deep breath.

“You seem more nervous about this than I am,” he commented, smiling.

She blushed, giving him an annoyed look.  **“I order, in my name: Rias Gremory.”** The scarlet chess piece began to glow brightly.  **“You, Yatogami Roy. By my authority as a King of Devils, I bid you to be reborn. I welcome you to your new life as my Rook!”**

Roy grunted, squinting through the red light as heat bloomed across his chest. Rias gritted her teeth as the piece began to sink in, but there came a resistance to it. Quickly, she took the second Rook and placed it next to the first. The light intensified, forcing him to close his eyes altogether. However, he felt the ninjas that he’d summoned vault over the couch towards them, and put out a hand to stop them. The heat spread out, washing over his front, soaking into him, penetrating deeper…

But then, the roiling darkness that he had felt before, his Sacred Gear, churned and pulsed.

There was a muffled  _ thump, _ and Rias staggered back with a gasp, both chess pieces clattering to the floor.

There was a moment of silence.

“...Do you think if I make a speech about how I reject my humanity, that’ll help?” asked Roy awkwardly.

Rias gave him a bewildered look, her hair looking somewhat frazzled.

“I somehow doubt it,” sighed Akeno, giving the Shadowkhan a wary look. In an instant during the commotion, they had crossed the couch to surround Roy and Rias. “Ara, ara…it seems that you’re just too much for Buchou to handle, Yatogami-kun.”

Roy snorted, even as he waved the ninjas back.

At this, the redhead gave just enough of her wits to give her friend a deadpan look. “I’d word that differently, but it’s true. I’m…I’m sorry, but your power is simply more than my Evil Pieces can convert.” She clasped her hands in front of her, fingers turning white, looking down.

“Damn…well, can’t say I’m not disappointed,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Well…guess I’ll just have to figure out how to get stronger with my own power.” He paused, thinking about that. “Hm. That might even be kinda fun, now that I think about it.”

“Yeah…”

Her tone made him frown and give her another look. Her huddled up form wasn’t what he would expect from a devil; rather, she looked like a schoolgirl whose confession had been rejected. “Hey,” he told her, suddenly feeling awkward, reaching out to put his hand on top of hers. She looked up at him, and he saw a swirl of emotions in those sea-colored eyes. “Even if I’m not part of your Peerage…is that spot on the club still open?”

She blinked at him, staring uncomprehendingly. Then, a shaky smile crossed her face. “Why? Thinking of joining?” asked Rias, echoing the previous day.

This time, however, Roy’s awkwardly terse answer was, “Mm. Yeah. I am.”

ASM

It was a simple matter for him to sign the paper that would mark him down as being part of the Occult Research.

“Well, Yatogami-kun, I guess that you can go home for today,” Rias told him, sitting behind her desk, “I’ll give the Student Council President your registration form tomorrow.”

“Aa, thanks, Gremory,” said Roy, standing up and stretching, “Nnn…ah, right, I guess I should be calling you Buchou now.”

She shrugged, giving him a thin smile. “Call me whatever you want.”

He nodded. “Gotcha. Though, if you wanna call me by my given name, that’s fine too.”

“O-oh...sure thing!”

Then he glanced at the Shadowkhan still lining the back wall, awaiting his command. “Hm…you mind if I try something on the way out?”

At Rias gesturing for him to go ahead, he told his minions, “Alright, guys, I want you to try shadow-traveling with me coming along for the ride.”

Instantly the navy-clad figures bowed their heads, most of them sinking away into the floor. Two of them, however, crossed the room to take their place on either side of their master, gently grasping his shoulders. He grimaced, remembering the earlier incident in the woods, but forgot that as a moment later, his feet began to sink into the ground, phasing through his own shadow into what felt like some sort of warm fluid. “Huh. Feels kinda wet. That’s neat. I wonder if-”

But then he and his escorts vanished.

“He’s just awakened his power and it’s already got quite a few uses,” Akeno murmured, frowning disconcertedly at the spot where he’d just stood.

“Yeah…”

The dark-haired girl glanced at her King, who sagged in her chair the moment the boy had left. “Buchou…” She reached out to touch her shoulder.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, making both girls yelp in shock. Roy leaned against the door-frame, panting hard and looking slightly disheveled.

“Bad idea!” he gasped, “There’s no air down there!” Then, straightening up and shaking his head to clear it, he bowed to the girls and closed the door. “Fuck it, I’ll just walk!”

In the silence that followed, Rias began to giggle. “He- he is just starting out, though, isn’t he?” she laughed.

Akeno sighed, though she too gave a gentle smile. “I wonder if he knew that might cheer you up.”

“Ch-cheer me up? Come on, Akeno, I’m fine!” protested the redhead.

Akeno hummed as she began to rub her king’s shoulders. “You know, Roy wasn’t that far off.”

“About what? The relationship thing? You’re incorrigible. You just like watching me squirm, you sadist.”

“Ara~ If you wanted me to stop, I would, you know. Besides…” her slender hands suddenly reached around to lightly cup the underside of the redhead’s round, firm breasts, “You know that I like being made to squirm too~”

Rias opened her mouth to snark, but squeaked in mortified pleasure when her Queen gave her a quick squeeze. “Nnn! S-stop thaaat~!” she whined halfheartedly, blushing and giving the other girl a pout.

“You really wanted him, didn’t you?” asked Akeno gently, giving her a sad smile when she froze, “I’ve never really seen anyone talk to you like that, or get you to respond so happily.”

The redhead bit her lip. “He…everyone around me looks at me as someone who’s above them and unapproachable. Besides you, of course, but I know that you don’t follow anime like I do.”

The Queen’s violet eyes crinkled in a smile. “You keep me far too busy to keep up with things like that,” she said teasingly.

“I know…but, Yato…Roy-kun, he doesn’t know what everyone else sees. It’s always the Gremory first, the heiress, the untouchable heiress that of course doesn’t want to talk to anyone else, no way. They’re always afraid of retribution of some kind. He wasn’t, though.” Rias cast her eyes down at the club registration on her desk. “Can I…can I tell you a secret, Akeno?”

“Always.”

She licked her lips. “When the Reincarnation failed, I…I felt so  _ cheated. _ No, I felt like  _ he’d _ been cheated!”

Akeno raised her eyebrows. “He has one of the strongest Longinus Gears in existence,” she pointed out.

“I know! I know. But you know…for all that talk about how the Longinus could potentially kill a god, they almost always die before they get the chance. Humans are so fragile and vulnerable…” The sight of the registration form blurred as tears filled her blue-green eyes. In a tiny voice, she whispered, “I almost wish…he didn’t have it.”

Her friend said nothing, only squeezing her shoulder.

“If he didn’t, then I could have Reincarnated him, and…and I wouldn’t end up outliving him too soon.”

“Oh, Buchou…”

She sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. “I’ve n-never had a friend like him before…w-why does it hurt so much, Akeno…?”

The dark-haired beauty leaned down to hug her friend tightly from behind. “It will be alright, Rias. Even if he’s not one of us, we can protect him until he’s strong enough to not need it.”

Unfortunately, amidst all their distress, both girls had completely forgotten Roy’s comment about his attackers being mind controlled.

ASM

Raynare watched the passing humans, feeling bored out of her skull. As satisfying as it was to look down on the scuttling monkeys, shrunken by perspective to a more fitting size, the feeling didn’t last long. It never did.

At first, she had been on edge when she and her squad had been assigned to this town. After all, sending just four Fallen (plus a few dozen Exiled Exorcists, but to her mind they didn’t count) right into the territory of two Devils? Sure, the orders were to perform reconnaissance, but it had been easy to read between the lines: seek out humans who possessed Sacred Gears and either eliminate them, or extract them to give to Lord Azazel.

It was a dirty job to be sure, but if on the off-chance it would help her Lord, then so be it. The emptiness inside her contracted a little as she thought about him congratulating her on a job well done.

As it was, she had discovered not one but  _ two _ Sacred Gear holders, in the same area no less. A foreigner, at least by Japan’s standards, and his lecherous neanderthal of a friend. At first, she’d wondered if the Sacred Gear Sensor had malfunctioned. Given how often the two boys hung around each other, it would have been easy to assume that there was only one signal coming from one of them. However, sure enough, by observing each boy separately, she had been able to confirm that, yes, there were two Sacred Gears in close proximity to each other. And going to the same school as two Devils, no less! Some people really got all the luck. And yet, neither one appeared to have staked their claim on the two boys, so perhaps her own luck wasn’t all that bad.

From there, it was a matter of devising a way to snag the two of them. For the pervert, Hyoudou Issei, it would be rather straightforward. She would disguise herself as a human girl, court him, and then easily entice him to join the Grigori. Well, at least if he didn’t end up groping her, because then she might just kill him and have done with it.

The other boy, Yatogami Roy, was a much tougher nut to crack. Raynare honestly had no clue how she was supposed to approach someone like him. Aside from the Hyoudou boy, his sister and the red haired Devil tart, he barely ever interacted with anyone. How was she supposed to entice him?

However, the more she watched, the more the reason he rarely interacted became clear. As a Half, he would not be seen highly by most of the population, especially high schoolers.

_ “...nare!” _

Perhaps it might be a good idea to try courting him as well. It might be a little messy to do the same idea for both of the boys. They’d probably-

“RAYNAREEEEEE!”

She looked up, bemused, before yelping.

*BOOF!*

A frilly blonde missile slammed into her. She yelped in astonishment as she was bowled over, her wings snapping out to try and halt her backwards movement, feathers flying as she tumbled.

“Mittelt!” she gasped, eyes bulging as she stared down at the petite, twin-tailed Fallen Angel currently straddling her on the rooftop, “What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to keep an eye on that Yatogami boy! And to not fly around in the open so blatantly!”

The other girl was practically panting with excitement, her wings spread wide and still flapping spasmodically. “Raynare!” she repeated, her blue eyes wide, “About that! Big news! I’ve got the biggest news ever! I had to tell you ASAP!”

“You can tell me after you get off me,” growled the taller Fallen. Mittelt squeaked out an apology and hopped off, letting the slightly disheveled Raynare draw herself up, as well as readjust the leather straps that had slipped slightly from their usual place across her full, creamy breasts. “So?” she prompted with forced patience, “What’s so important that you’d stop scouting?”

“Okay, so!” began the smaller Fallen, smoothing down the ruffles of her black gothic lolita dress agitatedly, “I was watching the Yatogami kid, like you told me. Got pretty bored and decided, hey, why not mind control some of the boys that have a grudge against him? There’s a lot of ‘em in that school!”

Raynare bristled. “Under the noses of those Devils?!”

Scoffing, Mittelt waved her off, “Those dingbats didn’t notice a single thing. Anyway, I figured, Sacred Gears awaken when the user is really stressed out, right? So if I had him get in a fight, he might awaken his power, so we could see if he was worth the effort or not!” She preened proudly at her idea.

“...That is a gross oversimplification of how Sacred Gears work and that plan has massive fucking holes in it,” deadpanned the taller girl, wearily waving at her.

“So I did that and he did! And he created these summons to take ‘em all down!” continued the blonde, ignoring the slight against her intelligence, once more flapping her wings with excitement. “He created them! Some kinda ninja things that I’ve never seen before!”

Frowning, Raynare went over in her head how many Sacred Gears allowed the user to summon minions. Knowing Lord Azazel’s obsession with them, he of course kept a comprehensive list of all Sacred Gears, their powers and subspecies. As far as she knew, none of the Independent Avatar types resulted in created ninjas, not to mention those types usually ever only created one summon… “Mittelt. How many of those things did he summon?”

“Way more than the guys beating him up.”

She nodded absently.  _ If there’re no Independent Avatar-type Sacred Gears that match that description, well, it could be a subspecies. _ But something told her otherwise.  _ A Creation-type Gear? Those’re only good for making objects, not living creatures. Well, all of them except- _

She stopped, eyes going wide and blood draining from her face. “...Mittelt.”

“You don’t have to keep saying my name, Ray-chan, I’m right here-”

“Did the boy look like he knew what he was doing?”

“Huh? Oh, no, he looked pretty gobsmacked. Heheh, it was kinda cute watching him ask his summons stuff-”

“We’re heading back.”

The petite blonde blinked. “E-eh? To the church? Why?”

“We have to get Dohnaseek and Kalawarner up to speed, and then prep the Extractor.” 

“The extrac- wait, what? I thought we were gonna recruit them!”

Raynare spread her black-feathered wings and lifted herself into the air. “This is too important to leave up to chance. We  _ have _ to get that Gear to Lord Azazel, no matter what!”

“But wait, weren’t we gonna use the Extractor on that Twilight Healing girl? If we use it now, we’ll have to wait a whole month to use it again without making the Devils suspicious!” protested Mittelt flying up after her.

Raynare took off towards the abandoned church at the edge of town, her subordinate yelping and flapping to keep up.  _ Twilight Healing is certainly powerful, but it can wait. The Devils have a newly awakened user of a Longinus on their hands; we have to grab him NOW, before they snatch him up, or he grows too powerful of a threat! _

_ Lord Azazel will be happy to study Annihilation Maker…so happy. _

ASM

Roy sighed as he walked out of school. He’d had a few minor heart attacks when he’d encountered some of the boys from the Judo club that had attacked him, but they’d only given him confused looks. It seemed whatever was affecting them had also wiped their memories of the event. At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about them carrying a grudge from earlier.

As he left the school grounds and made his way towards home, he glanced around to see whether anyone was watching. Seeing no one, lifted his hand, wordlessly willing his Shadowkhan to appear. Instantly they formed up, out of the shadows of a tree stretching across the road from the setting sun, kneeling before him.

He smiled.  _ So I don’t need to actually command them verbally. _ Nodding at them, they vanished again.  _ This is so fucking cool. _ Mentally, he brought up the image of his power- his Sacred Gear. The image of that marked coin shone gently, still marked with  **Numerous.** Whenever he summoned the Shadowkhan, it would pulse lightly, creating ripples in the liquid darkness. And yet, while he knew that the ninjas had been created by this phenomenon, he couldn’t help but feel like there was more to it.  _ It’s almost like a template, _ he thought to himself,  _ a core concept that a monster has to adhere to. So these ninjas are just ninjas because I imagined them that way, but the important thing is that they’re ‘numerous.’ So theoretically, couldn’t I make any other ‘numerous’ monster? _

Before he could attempt to puzzle this out, however, a female voice suddenly called out to him. “Excuse me!” Roy turned and blinked as a tall, navy-haired woman waved him down. She wore a wide-colored maroon coat and mini-skirt, the former of which only had a couple of buttons, showing off a vast swatch of voluptuous cleavage. He quickly tore his eyes away to gaze up into her eyes, faintly realizing that this woman was quite tall. She gave him a small, patient smile, having clearly noticed his brief staring. “Could you tell me which way to get to the nearest hotel?”

“Hotel…?” he frowned, “Er, I’d say you’re in the wrong part of town for the tourist area.” He pointed behind him. “You’re gonna want…” That was all he got before something hard and heavy struck the back of his neck with a *THWACK!*  _ Seriously, what is today…? _ he thought dimly, shortly before he hit the ground and passed out.

Kalawarna let out the breath she’d been holding, watching the shadows. Having just seen the boy summon those ninjas, she had almost been afraid that they might come springing out the moment she struck. Fortunately, it seemed that he needed to consciously command them to come to his aid. “Tough luck, kid. Best keep your guard up,” she commented aloud, scooping him up in her arms (and pressing his head to her sizable bust) before spreading her wings and taking off.

_ Let’s see Mittelt and Dohnaseek pull off a grab that slick! _

ASM

When Roy opened his eyes again, it was to find himself lying on a cold, hard floor. A quick shift told him that his hands and feet had been tied firmly, and his mouth had been gagged. He broke out in a cold sweat, even as his head throbbed.

Distant voices reached his ears, and he squirmed slowly, hoping not to draw any attention as he turned himself to take a sideways look at where he was. From the stone walls, gothic drapery and lack of windows, he wondered if he was in some sort of underground room. It certainly was spacious, from the view he had.

Craning his neck, Roy spotted some sort of silvery contraption mounted on a far wall. More pressing, however, was the crowd of black-hooded figures milling about, muttering to themselves.  _ Have I  _ actually _ been abducted by a cult? _ he wondered incredulously. He stifled a groan of pain as the back of his head throbbed.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to notice that he’d woken up.

“So, how’s it goin’, ladies?” called a harsh, mocking voice. Blearily, Roy turned his gaze about to see a white-haired young man, possibly about his own age, swaggering in from the distant doorway. Or at least he assumed that’s what it was; his vision was quite blurry and it hurt to focus.

“It’ll be another thirty minutes before the moon’s right for the ritual, Sellzen,” sighed one of the figures, another male, “You know this already.”

“Sure, sure, but the boss bitch wanted me to play messenger and ask. You know how she gets.”

“...Please don’t talk about Lady Raynare like that.”

“What, you worried about me blabbin’ behind her back? Fuck no, I’ve said that shit to her face too.” The man turned towards Roy, who quickly squeezed his eyes shut. “Best get that beauty sleep, sunshine,” he said cheerfully, “You’ll make a lovely corpse once we yank that Sacred Gear out!”

_ Great, _ thought Roy gloomily,  _ Kidnapped by a shady cult and thirty minutes for a ritual? Not good, no matter what it’s for. How do I get out of here? _

_ The Shadowkhan could cut me loose and pull me into the shadows. _

_ It takes a few seconds to sink into the shadows and I’m not sure how long I can hold my breath in there. I need to distract them. I need more monsters. _

_ I don’t have anymore coins. _

_ I have the Template. I’ll make more from that. _

_ They’ll be weak. _

_ As long as they keep this lot busy, that’s fine. I remembered the Shadowkhan, I can think of other ‘numerous’ minions. _

Breathing deeply through his mouth, he once more brought up the image of the emblazoned coin and the pool of darkness. He bit his cloth gag as he imagined the swirling darkness collapsing towards the glowing silver coin, vanishing as it touched the edges.

The image of the Shadowkhan appeared in his mind’s eye, followed by the rapidly forming image of a new, similar figure. There came a peculiar tugging sensation from his gut, like something slowly draining out of him. However, even as the first new image sharpened in his mind, he continued, starting to form another one.

_ Something to strike with surety. Something to take up their attention and intimidate them. _

_ Yes. These will do. _

He cracked open an eye to see what everyone was doing. The cultists were busy drawing lines of chalk on the walls and floors while also assembling the altar.

Suddenly, a pair of red orbs obscured his vision, and a hand firmly grasped his jaw. “Well now, you have any pleasant dreams?” sneered the man from before, Sellzen. Then he frowned. “You  _ did _ just get up, didn’t you?”

Roy grunted, casting his gaze past him to the opposite wall, where the toiling figures’ shadows were being cast by flickering candle-light.  _ Shadows… _

_ Strike. _

Suddenly, there came screams of shock and agony as transparent black katana blades sprang from the shadows on the walls, impaling the men that had cast them, followed immediately by black-armored figures. Their helmets were very obviously samurai-inspired, but with a beetle-like look to them, especially as the sides swooped down to cover their shoulders and neck. They moved coldly and efficiently, their blades swinging about in quick, brutal arcs.

Roy shuddered, a nauseous feeling churning like a ball in his gut as bodies fell.  _ Ah…I did order them to attack, _ he thought guiltily,  _ They really do follow through on what I tell them without hesitation… _

However, recovering remarkably quickly, the rest of the men quickly withdrew hilts from their robes, and his eyes bulged as blades of light sprang forth to clash with those razor sharp shadow-swords.  _ LIGHTSABERS?! _ The golden, glowing blades easily sheared through his new Ashigaru Shadowkhan, revealing their armor to be a paper-thin bluff. Each cut instantly reduced an unfortunate warrior to a rapidly-dispersing wisp of shadows.

_ …I want one too. _

The man holding him looked around in astonishment. “Wha-? Oh! Clever  _ dick!” _ he laughed, reaching into his pocket, “But I can’t have you killin’ my dudes like that!” He drew out a lightsaber hilt and held it to Roy’s elbow, “Juuust gonna take a little off the sides for ya, champ, before the extraction. It’ll just be a fleshwound!”

Roy couldn’t help but let out a yelp of terror behind his gag, and called for his other new creation.

A massive, meaty hand suddenly grabbed Sellzen by the skull. The man’s leering expression sharpened and with astonishing speed he lashed out behind him, igniting his saber. However, even as the blade of light slashed through the massively muscular man-thing that had grabbed him, the new Shadowkhan held on just long enough to hurl the man away bodily, sending him tumbling through the air with a yowl of surprise. As it burst into shadows, however, Roy  _ pushed,  _ and several more came boiling out of the ground to charge into the fray.

Simultaneously, one of the regular ninjas slid out from behind the boy and immediately severed the ropes binding him, untying his gag.

_ “Get me the  _ fuck _ outta here!” _ hissed Roy, keeping an eye on the melee. Apart from the white-haired man, who had landed in a heap near the fight and was now desperately rolling away from the Ashigaru and slashing back at them.

The shinobi grasped his shoulders and they began to sink into the ground, Roy drawing in a deep breath of air before the ground closed over his head.

Darkness swirled around him. A pitch-black abyss that felt like warm water, but warm, and somehow not all that wet. He held his breath, having learned already that this shadow-stuff was not breathable, eyes watering as his head throbbed with pain. The only other thing he could feel was an indistinct sense of motion, and the hands carefully keeping hold of his upper arms.

Finally, his lungs began burning for new oxygen, and he willed the Shadowkhan to let him surface. A moment later, he breached the surface, rising out of the ground with a gasp.

He looked around wildly, trying to figure out where the hell he was, and saw a dilapidated church behind him, highlighted by the setting sun.  _ A church…was I underneath there? Fuck, this shadow travel is slow as shit! _

“A-again!” he ordered, crawling to his feet. However, before the shadowkhan could grasp hold of him again, a pair of glowing javelins lanced down from the sky, forcing them to leap away. Roy yelped, ducking down and covering his head as more spears rained down, herding his escorts away from him. He attempted to summon two more at his sides, but they were instantly impaled and popped like dark soap bubbles.

“That’s far enough, boy!” called a female voice in the distance. He turned, stumbling and feeling lightheaded, to gaze up at the sky, where he could see four winged silhouettes hanging in the air, carrying aloft multi-colored spears of light. “Just stop resisting and it will all be over quickly!”

“I’d, nngh, r-rather it not be over at all!” he called back, “Lemme guess, you want my power? You could’ve just asked!”

“Not likely,” came the cold reply from the lead Fallen, “Those Devils got to you first, even if they didn’t fully claim you. We can’t risk you having mixed loyalties if you were to join us.”

He groaned. “With a hard-line stance like that, yeah, no shit, lady!”

She gave a humorless laugh. “If you’re going to blame anyone, blame God for giving you such a dangerous power to toy with!”

“Oh, and I’m sure you’ll use it so much better!” snapped Roy, “Get down off your high horse and look me in the eye before you spout self-serving bullshit like that!”

“Self-serving…?” She lifted the red spear in her hand, “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Suddenly, there came a whistling sound, and one of the other figures quickly reached out, snagging something out of the air. “...An arrow,” they murmured in a male voice. “Someone else is out here.

“...Huh? What’s that paper attached to it?”

“Shit! Talisman!”

Roy let out a grunt of pain as suddenly the evening lit up with a blinding light and a blast of sound, shutting his eyes as the Fallen Angels cried out in shock.

“Roy!”

He heard that familiar voice, before a pair of slender, but surprisingly toned arms suddenly lifted him up, and then he was being carried away.

“Damnit,  _ after them!” _ he heard in the distance, the Fallen woman’s voice filled with raw frustration and desperation.

However, there was little he could do now. Now that he was being carried, the adrenaline was draining from his body, leaving him weak and limp. “W-where are we going…?” he asked the woman carrying him.

“The shrine,” came the terse answer.

“The shrine…” He blearily opened an eye to see that they were running through trees. “The shrine…that’s a little bit south, right?”

“Y-yeah. Just hold on, Roy, I’ve got you! You’re safe now.”

He grunted. “No. Not yet. Stop for a second.”

“I’m not gonna just let you go-”

“Not that. Just stop for a moment, onee-chan.”

The woman stopped. “...Aha. I wondered if you knew it was me…”

Roy sighed. “Nee-san, I’m gonna remember that voice of yours.” He snapped his fingers, and four Shadowkhan materialized. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel them, even as Chiaki gasped. “Take a deep breath.”

“Eh?”

“Breathe deep and hold it! Quick.”

He felt her inhale, and did the same. A moment later, darkness closed over him.

When they finally surfaced, his older sister letting out her breath in shock and amazement, they were just feet from the path up the steps towards the old Shinto shrine. “Th-they won’t be able to come here uninvited,” she muttered, carrying him up the steps, “Sorry, but you might need to stay the night.”

“Uh huh…”

“Ahh…I didn’t want you to find out about this world like this…”

Roy grunted, even as his eyelids grew heavy.  _ So, even my big sis knows about the supernatural. _

_ Hah. She came to save me. What a cool sister. _

ASM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that’s a wrap. I’m seriously motivated for this fic, so let’s see how much more I can get done.
> 
> UO: Yes…*Glances at his other stuff and how slow it takes*
> 
> Anyway, note time! I bet y’all missed these!
> 
> 1: As much as I like Rias and like the whole Peerage thing, I decided it would be more interesting if Roy were to remain human for the time being.
> 
> 2: I stan giving Rias actual humanizing depths!
> 
> Sol: Me too!
> 
> 3: A lot of people tend to forget this, but what Rias wants most in the world is not powerful servants, but a friend who sees her as just another girl. An equal, not the heiress to a Devil noble family. And I’m willing to bet anything that none of her Peerage members are as big Otaku as she is, and Sona sure as hell wouldn’t be.
> 
> 4: Speaking of giving characters more fleshing out, how about that Raynare? Unlike Waking Dreamer, I’m keeping her as she was originally, but with a bit more dimension to her.
> 
> 5: Being such a fangirl of Azazel, she would of course keep up to date on his information about Sacred Gears and their types, thus allowing her to deduce that they’re dealing with Annihilation Maker. A newly Awakened Annihilation Maker that is basically at its weakest point, while they’ve already got a Sacred Gear extractor warmed up.
> 
> 6: Asia has not yet entered the picture, for those who are curious.
> 
> 7: As long as we’re handing out interesting personalities to characters, the personality of Freed Sellzen will be played by Jackie Avocado.
> 
> 8: So, using a coin (or more) creates an Aspect Template, which Roy can channel his pool of energy into in order to create different monster variants.
> 
> 9: In order to not be completely overpowered, Shadowkhan shadow-traveling is rather slow, due to being an ability not directly supported by their Aspect.
> 
> 10: Surprise! Big sis Chiaki’s shrine maiden gig comes with weapons training and enchanted talismans. ...It also comes with a complementary wardrobe, but we’ll get to that.
> 
> And that about sums it up for a summary! On to new monsters.
> 
> Ashigaru Shadowkhan  
> Tier-1  
> Aspect: Numerous  
> Abilities: Peak human swordsmanship, equipped with shadow-phasing blades, enhanced speed.
> 
> Sumo Shadowkhan  
> Tier-1  
> Aspect: Numerous  
> Abilities: Peak human strength, increased durability (still low due to Aspect), immense size, intimidation
> 
> Thanks to my friends UnitedOsprey1991 and Soleneus for looking over my stuff, no matter how little help they may render sometimes. ;)


	3. Royal Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his narrow escape, Roy must think on what it means to be the wielder of Annihilation Maker, and what to do moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Due to the advice of Richard Simmons over on QQ, I have gone back and changed it so that Roy learned Bajiquan instead of Tai Chi.

“Speech”  
Text   
_Thoughts_ _  
_ _Otherworldly Thoughts/Mental or Magical Communication_   
**Beast/Dragon/Super Mode**   
**Spell/Technique/Command**

Chapter 3: Royal Guard

When Roy opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was a massive, throbbing pain in his head, making him groan and squeeze his eyes shut. The second thing he noticed, as he breathed deep and tried to disconnect himself from the pain, was that he was lying on a futon. Cracking open an eye, he chanced a look around and saw that he was lying on a Tatami-mat floor, in the room of a more traditional Japanese building. _Ah…right, this is the shrine._

Slowly, carefully, he sat up, looking around. The room was small, with a pair of sliding doors marked by a pattern of trees. Hanging above him were a couple of paper lanterns, currently unlit, and sunlight streamed through the window.

 _Where am I? Last thing I saw...was my sister._ “…Chiaki?” he asked, blearily looking around.

“Here, baby bro,” her voice came from behind him, making him jump and wince. He turned to look at her, only to stop, staring. She gave him a small smile, holding up a wet washcloth. “How do you feel?”

He stared some more for a long moment. “Like my head’s about to just roll off,” he said finally, “And I think I’m hallucinating.”

Her blue eyes widened in dismay. “Oh no! J-just stay calm, I’ll go get-”

“Because my big sister is wearing the most ridiculous outfit I’ve _ever_ seen in real life.”

She slipped on the tatami in the midst of getting up. “Oof! Oh come on! I thought you were being serious!” she complained, sitting back down heavily.

Roy gave her a deadpan look. “Who could be serious with your tits hanging out like that?” he asked, making her blush and cringe. “Seriously, _what_ are you wearing?”

Chiaki’s attire could not be further from the thick cardigans and long skirted school uniforms she normally wore. The only similarity to those with the dress she wore was the color, collar, long sleeves and ankle-length skirt… it was just that someone had apparently cleanly sliced a wide section off the front, from top to bottom, exposing the entire front side of her curvy body. Apart from a pair of dark stockings and a black thong that he almost wished he didn’t know about, the only thing preventing her large, marshmallowy breasts from spilling out was a belt cinched tightly around her slender waist to keep the thing closed.

“Okay, so I know it looks bad,” she began sheepishly.

“No, I wouldn’t say it looks _bad,”_ he replied dryly, “Like something out of a hentai, maybe, but not bad.”

“Oh!” she huffed, crossing her arms over her prodigious bust, “You are _such_ a pervert!”

“Girl, you don’t get to call _anyone_ a pervert when you’re dressed like that!”

She gave a strangled noise of frustration that told him he’d won the argument. He pumped his fist in triumph, then groaned and held his head. “Oh fuck, I wasn’t kidding about that concussion though…”

Instantly her irritation vanished and she was at his side. “Oh no, oh no, j-just sit tight, Roy!” she babbled, taking great care not to shake him, “I-I’ll go get some ice!”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he replied, reaching out to cast a shadow on the floor next to him. She jumped when a Shadowkhan rose up out of it, kneeling. “You, go get some ice, would ya?”

When it bowed low and exited the room politely, he gave her a smug look. “Only had this power for a day, but I can tell that’s _not_ gonna get old.”

She bit her lip, gazing at him searchingly. “Roy…that power…”

“If you’re going to tell me it’s called a Sacred Gear,” he interrupted her blithely, “I know that already. It’s called Annihilation Maker.”

Her eyes bulged. “Annihil- wait, no, no, first question! _How_ do you already know about this?! How long have you-?”

Roy shrugged, wincing when it jostled his throbbing, fragile head. “Learned about it yesterday from Buchou- er, that is, Rias Gremory.”

“Gremory?! That she-devil?” yelped Chiaki, running a hand through her hair, “And you’re calling her Buchou?!”

“Well, as of yesterday,” he paused, “Well, today, if she turned in my application, I’m part of the Occult Research Club. And before you start flipping out even further, _no,_ she did not turn me into a Devil. She tried though.”

She looked incensed. “She _tried?!_ I oughta bitchslap her with a Five-fold Penance Talisman for trying to steal my brother for her little harem-”

“You will do no such thing.”

“But-!”

He lifted his head, his own blue eyes boring into hers. Her mouth closed. “I wanted her to change me. I dunno what kinda benefits being a magic shrine warrior gives you, but I for one would’ve been fine with gaining a super long lifespan and the ability to do magic.”

“But you would become her servant!”

Roy rolled his eyes. “So what? I’ve been friends with Rias Gremory for the better part of two years, and I know her well enough to know that that would be just fine.”

Chiaki stared at him, looking almost betrayed. “Two years? It’s been _that_ long?”

He gained a wicked gleam in his eye. “That reminds me, how long has all _this,”_ he waved meaningfully at her skimpily-clothed body, making her blush and cross her arms again, “Been going on?”

She seemed to shrink in on herself, looking away shamefully. “...Four years,” she admitted in a tiny voice.

Roy frowned, thinking back. “So...around the time that you started coming here to be a shrine maiden,” he commented, “What do you do exactly? ‘Cause that was a pretty good shot from a bow last night.”

“I…I’m mostly tasked with disciplining unruly Youkai and exorcising curses,” she said, not looking at him, “Under the authority of Bishamonten. Last night, he sent a message that some Fallen Angels were assaulting a human. I didn't realize it was you...what the hell happened?”

"Well when I awakened Annihilation Maker, someone had influenced the Judo club to try and rough me up. I guess it was a Fallen Angel, ‘cause they attacked me again right after I had a chat with Buchou about the whole supernatural thing. Hit me pretty fucking hard in the head. Fortunately their security was lax as shit, because I managed to get away, and then you showed up. My own sister, a supernatural warrior.” He snorted. “Funny how the world works.”

Chiaki bowed her head. “...I didn’t want you to find out like this,” she said quietly.

“As long as the supernatural was out there and you were part of it, I would have found out eventually,” he pointed out.

“I know that!” she snapped at him, and his stomach squirmed uncomfortably when tears gathered in her eyes, “It’s just…you always had enough troubles in your life, with those weird memories and stuff, and the world can already be a really crappy place even without knowing that there’s _real_ monsters out there. I wanted to…wait a bit. Let you be happier in ignorance for a little while.”

Roy said nothing, only raising an eyebrow. Just then, the Shadowkhan slipped back into the room, carrying an ice pack, which he wordlessly took and pressed to the back of his head.

“...Yeah, I guess that is pretty stupid,” she admitted, giving a heavy laugh, “But still, I…I didn’t want to make you afraid. Isn’t it my job as your older sister to protect you from stuff like that? I guess it backfired, though."

“Just a bit,” he answered flatly, sighing, “C’mon, nee-san, you read all the same books I did, growing up, you know how dumb the secret-keeping thing is.”

She gave him a sharp look, slightly marred by her wet eyes. “This is real life, not a book,” she told him seriously.

His aloofly lazy expression cracked, and he leveled a baleful glare right back at her. “First of all, you don’t need to tell me that,” he snapped, making her squirm, “I just got threatened to have my arms cut off by some crazy asshole cultist under the church.” When she went chalk white, he continued before she could speak. “Secondly, just because this is real life doesn’t mean it wasn’t still a stupid-ass decision. I know it, you know it, acknowledge it, _move on._ Now, do mom and dad know about this stuff?”

“M-mom knows that the supernatural is real,” she said shakily, “But she’s not…very curious about it. Dad knows nothing about it; him wanting us to learn how to fight was a coincidence.”

Roy grunted at that. “Well, that’s something. Though I don’t think Bajiquan is gonna do me that much good against lightsabers. At the very least I’ve got these guys.” The Shadowkhan bowed its head when he acknowledged it.

Chiaki sniffed. “Roy…I’m sorry. You’re right; i-if I had just told you from the beginning, then I…I don’t even know what I could’ve done differently! But I wouldn’t have let my baby brother get kidnapped!” Tears began to stream down her cheeks. “I…I’m sorry for being such a b-bad big sister!”

He gritted his teeth and looked away. “...Quit crying,” he told her roughly, his eyes burning, “It makes me wanna cry too.”

“R-Roy…!”

“You know that keeping secrets from friends and family like this is dumb,” he continued, trying to keep his voice level as she sobbed, “But you know, I always thought that the best friend getting mad and distancing themselves once they learned the secret was even more unbearable.”

Chiaki hiccupped. “You…you aren’t mad?”

“Sure I am,” he said simply, shrugging, “But I’ll get over it.”

“R…Royyyyyy…!” she wailed, throwing herself at him, only for a pair of Shadowkhan to catch her mid-pounce, “I’m sorryyyy! Your big sis will never keep something like this from you againnnn!”

“Sure, sure,” he sighed, glancing away again as her outfit began slipping away from her breasts some more, “I forgive you already, so stop crying. You think you can explain this to Buchou, by the way? And be civil about it? I’m guessing that you’ll want me to stay here for now.”

It took Chiaki a good moment to stop crying enough to answer. “Do…do you think that’s a good idea?” she asked, wiping at her face, “I-I mean, she’s-”

“Yes,” he said, nodding firmly, “She’s my friend, and today was supposed to be my first day in the club. I don’t want her thinking that I ditched her after she failed to convert me.”

Chiaki sighed. “Fine…I already called in sick for both of us, but as long as you stay in the temple, the other maidens will make sure you’re not disturbed while I go in your stead. While Bishamon-sama has given his permission for Rias Gremory to establish territory here, Fallen Angels who skulk around unannounced will be _struck down_.” Then she wavered, her eyes watering. “Ah, but…I don’t want to leave you alone again…! Ahhh, what do I dooo?!”

He grunted. “Well, whatever you do, make sure she ends up getting told. Also, tell her specifically that I want to see her.”

She pouted, but nodded reluctantly, standing up and opening the door.

“...Hey, Onee-chan.”

“Y-yes?!” she asked, eagerly turning around at the more familiar term of address.

At last, Roy gave her a small smile. “Thanks for coming to save me.”

She gasped, eyes shining with pure delight. “R-Roy-!”

_*BOFF!*_

A pillow smacked her in the face, knocking her out of the room. “Now get outta here and put some real clothes on!” he barked without any heat.

ASM 

Raynare paced back and forth in her room at the abandoned church. The place was worn down and the walls were peeling. She figured she wasn’t going to stay here long, so why bother tidying up? But now, the dingy light and dirty walls closed in on her, feeling like a cage that she could barely spread her wings in. Even so, it was better than the alternative; as much as she longed to go for a fly, she knew that that might as well be a death sentence now that the Devils almost certainly knew she was here.

If only she had stayed down in the ritual chamber to keep an eye on the prisoner, or at least left Kalawarner or Dohnaseek standing guard. If only she’d thought to maim him a little bit to keep him compliant (as much as the thought made her stomach churn at the thought of his pain-filled screams). If only she had done _literally anything other than trust that leering madman Freed Sellzen and a bunch of Stray Exorcists!_

She ran her fingers through her hair for the umpteenth time, and almost wished she had a mirror. Raynare had barely slept that night, reliving how it had all gone wrong, and knew that she must look terrible.

_“Get down off your high horse and look me in the eye before you spout off that self-serving bullshit!”_

“What does he know?” she muttered, rubbing a hand against her face, “I’m…I’m serving Lord Azazel.”

_If I can’t be of service…_

“Oi oi, you don’t look so good, boss-lady!”

Raynare gasped, whirling about to stare at the white-haired, red-eyed Exorcist. He leaned against the doorframe, smirking at her. “...Freed,” she said harshly, glaring back at him, “You have a lot of nerve showing your face to me after last night.”

“Eh, little rat bastard got the drop on me,” he replied casually, one hand carefully moving to the hilt of a Blade of Light at his waist. If he had taken any damage at all the previous night, he didn’t show it. “He’s a clever Devil-fucker, but that’s about as far as it goes. Next time I’ll make sure that he can’t run anywhere, awake or asleep.”

“Next time…” she mumbled feverishly, drawing in a breath, “Yes…next time. But first…we should l-lay low-” she gritted her teeth as a stutter slipped out, “And stay under the radar for a few days. After that…we should try the other one first. He hasn’t even awakened his Sacred Gear yet.”

Freed nodded pensively. “Mmhm, mmhm…yep! Sounds like a plan to me, boss-lady! Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure to do it thoroughly this time.” A wide, toothy grin spread across his face. “Heheheh…while those Devil dipshits are trying to protect one of their toys, we’ll slip in and make off with the other one! God, I wish I could see the looks on their faces when we leave his body for them~”

Raynare rocked back as his words struck deep. “...If that’s all, then leave,” she told him flatly, trying to keep her voice steady.

He shrugged, his grin turning mischievous as he turned and strutted down the hallway.

She crossed the room and slammed the door, tremors wracking her body the moment he was gone. Her breathing sounded loud and harsh in her ears as she stumbled back, swallowing thickly as Freed’s mention of leaving Hyoudou Issei’s desecrated body for others to find swam around her head.

In her mind, the boy’s body suddenly became many, and she broke out in a cold sweat. “No…no, no…” she mumbled.

_“My wings...where are my wings?! I can’t see! It hurts! It hurrrrrts!”_

She drew her own jet black wings around herself, tenderly stroking the feathers as she whimpered.

_“S-someone…someone help me! Anyone! Even a Devil!”_

_“Are we really that useless, my lord…?”_

Her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground, trembling, clasping her hands to her ears as if it would block out the voices.

_“It’s no use, girl. Leave us be. We’ve been thrown out to die.”_

“No…” she whimpered, tears spilling from her wide, terrified eyes as she huddled behind her wings, “No…Lord Azazel isn’t like that…I j-just need to show him that I can succeed…!”

_I don’t want to die like them…!_

Just outside her room, Freed’s smile deepened as he listened to her terrified sobs. It was just too easy to press that bitch’s buttons.

ASM 

Roy stared down at the silver coin resting in his palm. It was completely identical to the one he’d used just the other day to create the Shadowkhan and their variants. _Okay, so, let’s take stock,_ he thought to himself, _It looks like I only get one of these…coins? Medals? Whatever, I get one a day. Considering that I had that first one for a few days before I finally used it, it looks like they don’t just stack up, either. Annoying, but that probably means that if I work at it, I can get more somehow._

_When I used the first one to create the Shadowkhan, I could make other monsters that were Numerous. As long as I have an…Aspect, to act as the core of the creature, whatever it ends up being._

He thought back to how he’d poured some of his pool of dark energy (probably a part of the Sacred Gear itself) into the Template in order to create different varieties of Shadowkhan. He wondered for a moment whether he should try again, but glancing back at his new coin, decided to hold off. _What sort of monster should I make next? I’m already basically covered in terms of manpower._

_That manpower has almost zero staying power, though. Those cultist guys were able to cut through them like tissue paper. It would’ve taken way too long to overwhelm them if I were unable to escape._

_So I need something that won’t just die in an instant. Was that a side effect of them being Numerous?_

_I need something more durable. Something that can actually hold its own and protect me._

He smiled, turning the coin over in his fingers, the metal beginning to glow as an image crystallized in his mind. _Ninja, sumo and samurai are all well and good,_ _but for an armored warrior, what else would I choose but a_ **_Knight?_ **

There was a flash of light, and the coin shattered, sending swirls of darkness cascading out of his hand to form a circle on the floor. Slowly, the darkness coalesced, wisps forming up into interlocking plates of steel, which wove together around strong limbs.

Within seconds, a fully armored knight knelt before Roy, its head bowed. A faint, ethereal blue light glowed from between the woven metal strips of its armor, along with the T-shaped slit in its helmet, and its edges swirled impressively with extra wisps of darkness. A black broadsword was sheathed at its side, and it carried a large shield of similar material.

He grinned. _So as long as I have a Medal and a good keyword that matches what I want, making new monsters is damn easy!_ Absently, he gestured to summon a second knight, only to start in surprise when nothing happened. _So apart from Numerous, creating a new monster only gets me one for free._ Focusing, he poured some of his inner pool into the brand new shining Template, wanting not to create a new type monster from it, but instead to create a new unit.

Darkness drained away, a little less than he’d used to create the extra Shadowkhan, and then a second knight stood before him, its visor lined with glowing vertical slits, this time carrying a spear. He blinked at the weapon, before thinking for a moment, then dismissing and calling the second knight again. This time, when it appeared, it too carried a sword and shield. _So, I need to spend extra energy in order to have more than one unit to summon,_ he thought to himself. He focused, pouring in a little more, and the third knight formed, carrying a shadowy crossbow. He grinned; now _this_ seemed promising. Of course, after that was the more important test.

An Ashigaru formed up behind one of the knights, its own sword drawn, while the armored figure obligingly held out an arm (which Roy couldn’t help but notice was longer than a human’s arm should be).

Bracing himself, the boy nodded, and the transparent blade fell, slicing off the knight’s arm. The severed limb quickly vanished into scraps of black mist, but the knight itself remained standing, giving no sign that it had felt any pain. As it gazed expectantly at him, Roy suddenly gasped as he felt a steady flow of energy flowing out of him, and shadows instantly streaked towards the stump of an arm, gathering and regenerating until the arm was fully restored. _So…as long as they’re not Numerous, it appears that I can just spend energy to heal them,_ he thought, frowning pensively.

_Most likely the bigger the injury, the more that has to be replaced._

Just to make sure that he could in fact regenerate them from anything, he had the Ashigaru decapitate the night next, grimacing at the sight even though there was no gore; inside the armor was nothing but black fog. Once more, the head vanished, then regrew within moments. Even when the knight was diced rapidly into pieces, it would reform as good as new.

He let out a breath, adjusting himself; it was getting uncomfortable sitting down this long, but he simply couldn’t stand up without feeling a wave of dizziness. _Head trauma is no joke…_

Shifting into a different position, he thought about how, at several points, he’d noticed that even without looking, he could _feel_ the positions of each of his summoned units. Closing his eyes, he imagined not only the pool of darkness, but also the creatures that he had called out. As he did so, he became aware of a series of undulating cords, leading out from him towards the others.

He took a deep breath, mentally prodding them and twitching when his consciousness slipped easily into each. Almost like his mind was the whites of an egg, it spilled out of his own head as he followed the threads…

And suddenly, Roy found himself gazing at his own body, sat hunched over in the middle of the room. Not only that, but from multiple overlapping points of view! _Holy shit…I can sense what my creations can! This has_ so _many uses!_

He opened his own eyes, finding that now that he knew how to spread his consciousness to them, it was a simple matter to switch focus between which eyes he used. _Next test…is there a range to these?_ “...You,” he said to one of the Shinobi Khan, “Head over to the school to see how Rias is doing.”

He _felt_ his own command thrum down the cord, like a note played on a guitar, and just as quickly felt the Shadowkhan’s body move to respond. It sank down into its own shadow, but this time, Roy became aware of it as it glided effortlessly through the blackness. He could see the world sliding by overhead through the transparent ground, and was grateful that he didn’t seem to find the split perspective and sense of motion nauseating.

 _Why can’t the shadow travel be this fast when I use it, though?_ he groused mentally.

_Maybe there’s only so much that can be done with one Medal?_

_Annoying…_

Within moments, the Shadowkhan reached Kuoh Academy, easily passing under the outer wall and gliding through the shadows towards the old school building. From his (its?) position underground, Roy was able to easily note the number of students milling about on the grounds; classes were most likely over by this point.

…Then he blushed as he realized that this ‘scouting’ also allowed him to see directly up the skirts of the female students.  _Well, on the bright side, at least it’s me that got this power,_ he thought ruefully.

_Hyoudou would die of jealousy. He must never know._

A foot suddenly stomped directly over where the Shadow lurked, and it quickly retreated deeper as a pulse of _something_ suddenly ran down through the ground. Roy held his breath, suddenly nervous as the narrow, golden eyes of Toujou Koneko glared down at him.

“...Weird,” he heard her mutter after a moment, before she continued on her way.

 _…Something’s up with that girl,_ he thought, _She definitely knew that this thing was here._

_Dat ass doe._

_NOT NOW, BRAIN!_

_No but seriously, I want those thighs squeezing my head. Fuck they look so soft…_

Roy groaned, putting his head in his hands. _Why is my past life such a pervert?_

_Because I’m surrounded by a bunch of sweet, sexy girls and I know it._

_…I hate how right I am._

_No I don’t. Also, I’m just half of my own thoughts, so any perversion that I dispense is true of the whole._

_Wow, this concussion has made me fucking crazier._

_Or just more honest. After all, lying to yourself is a good way to REALLY go crazy._

He frowned to himself, but as usual, could not refute himself. _…I guess it’s nice to not have that option,_ he decided, bidding the Shadowkhan to continue on its way.

As it passed into the old school building, Roy realized that the shadowy abyss now rose up through the building, allowing it to ‘swim’ between the walls and see into the rooms. _These things are pretty great at infiltration and spying._ He paused as it passed by a dark room, the ‘barrier’ between the abyss and the actual space so thin it might as well be made of glass. What caught his attention was the only source of light, a computer screen, in front of which sat the hunched form of a petite blonde girl, who was mumbling to herself.

_…Why does Rias have a Hikikomori in her club building? Whatever, question for later._

He moved on, sliding through the internal walls to find the clubroom, spotting it moments later and drifting closer, until he found a good spot under one of the couches. Sure enough, he saw Chiaki and Rias sitting across from each other…and damn near choked when he saw that the redhead was wearing only a towel. Evidently she’d just gotten out of the shower, as her smooth, creamy skin glistened with remaining moisture, and her crimson hair was noticeably damp. Her bare, shapely legs were crossed, drawing his eyes to the plumpness of her thighs, and her arms were crossed under her tremendous bust. From his vantage point under the sofa, Roy was visited by an urge to look down on her from above to try and get a better view, but quickly restrained himself.

_Fuck, she looks good._

However her horrified expression marred things just a little. “...the Fallen? What Fallen!?”

“You’re telling me you didn’t notice?” asked Chiaki incredulously, “They’re literally just sitting in an old church on the edge of town, north of the shrine.”

Rias took a shaky breath. “...No, I wasn’t aware that they were there.” She put a hand to her face. “Ah…I should have paid more attention! I thought that this place was safe, apart from the occasional monster or Stray Devil, and I got complacent…” Her fingers curled. “He got taken right out from under me…I’m sorry.”

He heard a sigh from above him. “As long as you realize what you did wrong, I suppose I can forgive you,” huffed his sister, “Though I still can’t say that I’m happy that you tried to turn him into a Devil. What, did you decide that he wasn’t worth the effort to look after when you failed?”

“Of course not!” yelled Rias, jumping up with her eyes ablaze, “Whether you approve or not, Roy-kun is my friend! Yes, I could’ve had my Familiar keep an eye on him when he left, or asked Akeno to, but I didn’t! If you’re looking for some reason to think I would just give up on him, I won’t give it to you! I just… _messed up._ ”

Roy winced; just looking at her, the redhead was just a little bit scary, with an aura of red rising off of her, moisture evaporating from her skin to leave her dry, even as her hair lifted up slightly under the force of some mystical wind. _I sure don’t envy nee-san right now,_ he thought.

Chiaki likewise stood up, and although he could only see her feet, he knew from experience that she towered over his friend. “Yeah, you ‘messed up,’” she hissed, matching the redhead in malevolence “And if I hadn’t gotten there in time, then _my_ little brother would be _dead_. I don’t know what the gods were thinking, okaying a lazy brat like you to use this town as your territory, but you’d better fucking step it up.”

“I wouldn’t be talking! You had every opportunity to tell your brother about the kind of danger he might be in, but he had to find out from me!”

_Honestly, I dunno which one of them is being more ballsy in this situation,_ Roy thought to himself, starting to feel decidedly awkward about listening in on this argument. However, since said argument was about himself, he decided that he could deal with a bit of awkwardness.

“And as for ‘stepping it up…” Rias continued, “...You’re right.” She gave a sigh, practically deflating, hair falling back down. “You’re right,” she repeated.

“Y-you don’t have to say it twice!” stammered his sister, seemingly thrown by how quickly the other girl had seemingly capitulated.

“You know, I assume, about my family’s power?”

“Nn. The Power of Destruction, right?”

Rias nodded, sitting back down with a groan. “That’s right. My mother’s side of the family has the power to disintegrate things. Normally, that would be enough to deal with some ragtag Fallen Angels or Stray Devils that decide to set up shop, but…it’s not going to end with those, is it? Roy-kun’s power will keep attracting danger to him.”

“…Yeah,” said Chiaki quietly, “Those who have Sacred Gears are destined to bring down calamity on themselves, whether it be Heaven or Earth. That’s what they told me when I first started training as a Shrine Warrior. We were told to avoid them as much as possible. And then it turns out that my little brother is right at the top of that list.” She laughed. “Kinda puts it in perspective, doesn’t it? How scary it’ll be for him, when everyone starts gunning for him. And to think that I thought ignorance was bliss.”

There was a long moment of silence. Then…

“I don’t want him to die,” said Rias simply.

“Yeah.”

“If he manages to fulfill even some of the potential Annihilation Maker gives him, then I bet he’ll become strong enough to survive. That’s why, I promise you-”

But Chiaki interrupted her. “Don’t promise me. Make your promises to him. He wants to see you, you know. He asked me to tell you that.”

“O-oh…” she murmured, looking pleasantly surprised for a moment.

“Ah, you thought he’d be mad at you, didn’t you?” snorted his sister, “What, were you gonna grow stronger and protect him from the shadows until the time came for you to reconcile?”

“...Maybe?” Rias mumbled, blushing, “I-If I had to…”

_She’s cute when she’s embarrassed._

“Yeah, don’t do that. You might not know it, but Roy’s stupidly fucking loyal to his friends. It’s why he still hangs out with that perv Hyoudou. He’d be pretty mad if you started avoiding him, so just…go see him.”

The redhead gave a small laugh. “Hah. You put things so bluntly, just like him.”

_Well, when you put it like that, yeah, maybe._

“Heh. He got it from me, you know!” boasted his sister smugly.

_My ASS I did!_

“Ah, where is he, by the way?”

“I took him to the shrine. The Fallen would have to actually be suicidal to try any shit there.”

“I see.” Nodding decisively, Rias stood up. “In that case, I’ll be ready to go in just a minute.”

Roy inadvertently let out a gasp of shock, astonishment and amazement when she then let her towel fall, letting his Shadowkhan see _everything._ As he took in the sight of her flawless curves, including a tight, narrow waist, flaring hips and huge, gravity-defyingly perky breasts, the boy decided that his first ever sight of a fully nude girl was absolutely one worth remembering.

Chiaki’s Warrior outfit most certainly did not count.  _She wasn’t fully naked anyway._

_Oh shut up!_

Meanwhile, his sister let out a strangled yelp. “H-holy…! Okay, nevermind, I can see why my little bro’s sticking with you.”

Roy finally dismissed his Shadowkhan, severing his connection with its senses, blushing furiously, Rias’s last giggle echoing in his ears.

ASM 

After that test of range, Roy decided that it’d be best to stick to keeping his Shadows in the area. This time, he connected himself to one of his new Knights. It was a heady feeling, to stand over himself with such a tall body. In this state, he could feel that he didn’t even need to issue any orders; it was like it was his own body, to move about as he wished. But the Knight’s movements were… _different._ Its abnormally long, thin limbs carried in them a tremendous amount of power and precision, so much so that when he swung its sword, he half-worried that he might break the sound barrier.

On a whim, he summoned several more Shadowkhan of each type, and ordered them to fight the Knights, taking control of one of latter in the process.

He almost fell into a trance, feeling how each opponent moved and struck fluidly, bending the Knight’s body in ways that implied a lack of a spine to evade attacks, balancing in the most unlikely ways as he kicked and lashed out as the Shadowkhan. The brutish Sumo Khan could actually last a hit or so before dispelling, causing his sword to get stuck for a crucial second and allowing the Samurai to hack away at him. The second time this happened, he decided to just let go of the weapon and retreat, so as to save some energy. As he did so, his hand curled, and a heavy knuckle-duster appeared in it. _Huh. So I can call up just about whatever weapon I want for these guys,_ he thought, manifesting a second one in his other hand.

His punches drilled straight through Shadowkhan bodies now, even the Sumo, drawing heavy whooshes as they cut through the air.  _Hm…I can’t really tell how effective these are on targets this fragile,_ he realized quickly, finally calling a halt.

_Maybe I should create something more durable tomorrow?_

_No, something to sense things would be more prudent, given all the enemies out there. If that chick yesterday was a Fallen Angel in disguise, I’ll wanna know next time._

_Yeah…if nee-san and Rias were both scared of what having this power means, then survival is gonna be a priority._

A few minutes later, he heard footsteps approaching the room and dismissed his summons, or rather, he had his Shadowkhan hide themselves in the shadows; if anyone attacked him this time, he wouldn’t be completely defenseless.

The door slid open, and he saw Rias Gremory standing before him. Her eyes roved over him. “R…Roy-kun,” she said tentatively.

He gave her a small smile and a wave. “Yo, Buchou.”

“Are you…okay?” she asked, stepping into the room. Despite the surety he’d seen back at the clubroom, when she’d argued with Chiaki, suddenly, she seemed to have turned meek and shy when faced with him.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I’d stand up, but I’m a little concussed.” He spotted her flinch.

“You’re hurt?”

“Well, nothing life-threatening, but I get real dizzy when I stand up.”

Her eyes widened, and she quickly dashed forward, sinking to her knees before him. “W-what? Why didn’t you say so sooner! Don’t worry, I can heal you easily!” A glow suffused her hand, before forming into a magic circle. “Where does it hurt?”

“Back of my head…” 

Immediately she reached out to gently touch the back of his head, leaning forward until they were inches apart. Roy blushed, but grinned encouragingly at her. She seemed not to notice, her cute face set in determined focus. Soon enough, however, that constant throbbing pain in his skull faded away, bringing sweet relief. “Ohh, that’s much better,” he sighed, “I thought I was gonna have to get used to that for the rest of the week or whatever.”

“If I’d just paid attention, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt at all,” said the redhead, letting go of him with a sigh and leaning back on her haunches, drawing his eye to how her thighs and calves squished slightly. “I didn’t even realize that you’d been…k-kidnapped, until your sister came by and told me. And after I told myself that I’d help you grow stronger, too…”

He sighed. “Buchou, I’ve already got the whole remorseful self-deprecation thing from my sister today, I don’t need to hear it again. Anyway, let’s get this out of the way: I don’t blame you for what happened in the slightest.”

She bit her lip. “I…I see. Even so, I need to say this.” Taking his hand in hers, Rias lifted her gaze to his, letting him see the seriousness in her deep, blue-green eyes. “I promise you, Roy-kun…I’m going to start taking my job here seriously, and train to get stronger. Not just me, but my Peerage. You might not be officially part of it, but you are a member of my club, so you might as well be, and attacking anyone close to me is unacceptable.” Her eyes seemed to glow. “I’m going to _kill_ those Fallen bastards.”

Roy held her gaze as she spoke, accepting her words without any argument. Afterwards, he nodded, and said, “If it’s all the same to you, Buchou, I’d like a slight amendment on that.”

“Eh?” She blinked, confused.

“See, given that I’m the one that they blindsided and tried to kill, I feel like it’d be anticlimactic if I just sat back and let you protect me the whole time- not that I don’t appreciate it!” He added quickly when she made to protest, “I think if anyone’s gonna pass the final judgement on them, I’d want it to be me, after I show them how much they fucked up.” He raised his hand, and felt his three Knights rise up behind him. “You see, I’ve found out that I can make a new monster ‘template’ every day. And that means that the longer you wait to deal with those bastard cultists-”

“They’re called Stray Exorcists,” she told him faintly, gazing up at his new Summons.

“Yeah, them.” He paused to take a breath, when suddenly an idea occurred to him. “...Hey, Buchou. You told me that Devils take contracts, right? And gain strength from it?”

Rias frowned at the sudden change of subject. “Y-yes? That’s right. The more significant the task we perform, the more power we receive in return.”

His brow furrowed as he thought, a smile slowly working across his face. “In that case…I assume that you can’t just form contracts with a member of your Peerage, right?”

“Technically, the Evil Pieces are like the manifestation of a contract, so we can’t really form additional ones until they become strong enough to have their own Peerage. Roy-kun, why are you asking about this all of a-” She broke off, her eyes widening. “Wait…are you saying…?”

Roy grinned. “Yeah. Rias Gremory, would you like to form a Contract with me? In exchange for…oh, let’s say a week or two of training me up- and yourself and your Peerage of course -and leaving the final judgment of the Fallen Angels to me when we beat them…I’ll do you a favor.”

Rias stared at him, perplexed. “Roy, I…I mean, I’d be happy to form a contract with you, of course! But, why bother with a contract for training? It’s not likely to result in much of an increase for me- again, n-not that I don’t want to!” she was quick to assure him, flailing her arms slightly, “I’m just…not sure why?”

He leaned forward. “Ah, but you’re not just helping with training. You’re helping to train the holder of Annihilation Maker. One of the strongest Longinus users coming to you for help in getting stronger?” He raised his eyebrows, smirking. “Eh? Sounds pretty significant, doesn’t it?”

She giggled at his conspiratory tone, “Well, when you put it that way…lemme take a look.” Then, to his surprise, she whipped out her smartphone and pulled up an app. “Let’s see…a week or two of training the holder of Annihilation Maker, in exchange for a favor from the same…” Rias waited for a few moments for whatever results the app gave her.

“You have an app for Devil contracts?”

“Hm? Oh yes. We keep up with technology pretty well. I mean, can you imagine a girl my age without a phone?”

“Ah, fair point.”

Then she refocused on the screen. “...Yes, that would be legitimate. And the favor can be one large one, or several small se-” She coughed, her cheeks turning pink. “N-nevermind. Yes, we have a deal, Yatogami Roy-kun.”

“Excellent,” he said, nodding with satisfaction.

“…Though I have to admit, it’s impressive that, even though you just learned about your…well, status, you’re already using it to great effect like this. I would’ve thought that it would take a while to realize how much you mean to the world.”

His grin shrank slightly, becoming wry. “Well…to tell you the truth, I overheard your conversation with nee-san earlier.”

 _“What?!”_ yelped a voice from the doorway.

“Oh shaddup, it’s not like you’re doing anything different!” he yelled over Rias’s shoulder, before turning his attention back to her, “Anyway…I already know that having this power is gonna get a target put on me, and that that scares you. I know that you want to get stronger for my sake.” When the redhead blushed again and looked away, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m thankful for that. It means a lot to me that you’d go that far. But…Longinus users are a big deal, aren't they? I'm not that strong yet, but if I'm gonna be a mover and shaker in the supernatural world one day…then I wanna get used to acting like it. I don't want to get used to staying behind and being protected.”

As he gave voice to his feelings, they stilled themselves in his heart, hardening into crystallizing into a kind of resolve. Behind him, the shadows stirred, and red eyes opened up to gaze in at the room. His smile faded away, and his own blue eyes pierced into Rias, who stiffened under his gaze.

“I'm a fucking monster maker,” he continued, standing up, feeling grateful that he no longer felt any dizziness. “And when I go out there to kick some ass, I won't be afraid, even if I’m just a human, because I will _NEVER_ be alone."

Rias gazed up at him, wide eyed. Then she too smiled and stood up, reaching out and taking his hand. “No, you won’t be,” she agreed firmly.

ASM 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Boom! There we have it! I was worried that I was slowing down a little there, but just like that I’m back!
> 
> UO: This train has no brakes *CRASH*...Roy did it!
> 
> Sol: Hell yeah brother!
> 
> Soul: Not bad. I feel motivated.
> 
> Alright, time for notes.
> 
> 1: Chiaki sure does stupid things for the ones she loves. Dressing up in hentai heroine outfits is just part of the job.
> 
> 2: Chiaki’s only real familiarity with Rias is what she’s heard from her superiors in terms of supernatural knowledge and the fact that they go to the same school. Even then, Chiaki is in the College division, so she has pretty much zero reason to interact with her unless Something Bad happens.
> 
> 3: For those of you who were hoping for more Shinto Faction involvement, rejoice, because it will be happening. Just gradually. Also, while Chiaki and the other Maidens she works with are technically under the authority of Bishamonten, they mainly deal with his emissaries when he has something for them to do.
> 
> 4: Bishamonten (or just Bishamon) is a War god, thought to be an aspect of Hachiman, and is also called Vaisravana, one of the Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhist mythology. He deals primarily in punishing the wicked for their crimes.
> 
> 5: Roy just doesn’t have the energy or inclination to hold grudges over things like secrets being kept like him. He is, however, vulnerable to other people crying; it makes him upset in turn.
> 
> 6: In which it becomes readily apparent that Raynare has never actually met Azazel in her life. Poor girl has abandonment issues, to put it mildly.
> 
> 7: And now we get into the actual Solo Leveling stuff for this pseudo crossover! About damn time. What better protector for Roy to create than the Knights that the original Shadow Monarch first raised himself?
> 
> 8: In addition, we see a bit more of how Annihilation Maker works, or at least the Subspecies that Roy has. As long as he has a Medal, he can make a Template. As long as he has a template, he can make monsters that fit it. As long as the monster isn’t Numerous, he has to spend energy to make more of them (though any copies he makes are permanent) and he can spend energy to heal any injuries they take.
> 
> 9: He can also share any of their senses and control their bodies as if they were his own. This can be a little confusing, as pretty much all of his Summons possess higher physical attributes than him.
> 
> 10: When not carrying a passenger, Shadowkhan Shadow Travel can be pretty fast.
> 
> 11: A brief guest appearance by everyone’s favorite Vampire Trap.
> 
> 12: Catfight while one girl is only wearing a towel? Why yes, this is an ecchi/harem series, how could you tell? XD
> 
> 13: Ultimately, while Chiaki and Rias have their differences, they still have some things in common: their desire to protect the ones dear to them.
> 
> 14: Of course, Roy is not content to merely be protected. He might be human, but he’s already considered Important by the rest of the world, not just his sister and sexy friend. The best time to speak up about such things is as soon as possible, and to declare himself a strong independent human who don’t need no devil! Even if she is very cute and nerdy.
> 
> 15: The contract is mostly a formality; Roy would of course do a favor for Rias if she asked, and she would similarly help train him no matter what. However, getting such things down in Demonic Legalese can have...benefits.
> 
> And that’ll do it for now! Seeya next time!
> 
> As always, thank you to my friends UnitedOsprey, Soleneus and SoulEmbrace for looking this over and pointing shit out that needs changing.
> 
> If you have any questions or comments, leave a review or send me a PM.
> 
> North South Out.


End file.
